About Books Movies Discussion Support Support Support
 
MuggleNet | The Book Trolley - Pure Dead Wicked - Reviewed By Robbie Fischer.


Pure Dead Wicked
by Debi Gliori


In this sequel to Pure Dead Magic, all the good guys from the first book return (except that Marie Bain is on holiday in France). The adventure begins when a couple of slates fall off the castle roof and narrowly miss crushing the whole family to death. Signor Strega-Borgia calls in a roofing contractor who declares that the roof is okay but the beams under it are unsound, and quotes a heart-breaking six-digit sum as an estimate for fixing it.

Things go from bad to worse, because the contractor is a crook in cahoots with a real estate contractor, who wants to get hold of Strega-Schloss and turn it into a really tacky suburb or, perhaps, a toxic waste dump. So while the roofing contractor sabotages the family's picturesque ancestral home until it is on the verge of being condemned for mandatory demolition, the family takes up residence in a grossly overpriced hotel in the nearby village of Auchenlochtermuchty, where the witchy proprietress is trying to poison her own husband, steal somebody else's if possible, rip off the Strega-Borgias for all they are worth, and make their stay as miserable as possible.

It also turns out that she is one of the masterminds of the plot to get their home out from under them. (Her name is Ffion, which someone pronounces fee-YAWN, but which I think is intended to be pronounced "Fie on.")

But certain members of the Strega-Borgia entourage have other ideas. Particularly, the beasts Sab, Ffup, and Knot, the crocodile Tock, the rat Multitudina and her daughter Terminus, the spider Tarantella, a gang of tiny kilted warriors sprung from a spilled tincture of dragon's teeth, and 403 naked little pink clones created by Titus, Pandora, and Damp. And the kids themselves, of course.

The results are a bit gruesome, to tell the truth, and what ends up being really ironic is that the family thinks they have gotten away with something when, in fact, they have unwittingly prevented others from getting away with their home.

Gliori's books are wacky and modern and full of a dizzying combination of high-tech and low-tech wizardry, and adorable family values (plus the not-so-adorable stuff kids get up to when they're not thinking of others). Pure Dead Wicked ends with what is for me a bit of a mystery...what came out of the egg? Maybe if I could think like a Scotsman I would know. Or maybe I just have to wait for the third book to come out!

Robbie Fischer
Arizona USA

Recommended Age: 12+

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.


 
Most Commented
Big
News
Top Commentors
Loading...
Which stars next film are you looking most forward to?

 

Woman in Black - Dan
Perks of Being a Wallfower - Emma
Into the White

 

June 28, 2004 - Door on J.K.Rowling.com opens for the first time to reveal the title of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
 
 

Please login to participate in MuggleNet's Daily Trivia Competition!

Oh, well... I'd just been thinking... if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet.

Moaning Myrtle
Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17, Page 326
Evanna Lynch found out about the auditions for the role of Luna Lovegood after reading a news post on MuggleNet. She has been a long-term fan of the series and the site. She made Luna’s lion hat in HBP and created some of the jewelry worn by Luna in the movies.
 
 

BAFTA & Grammy Awards
February 12

MegaCon with Tom Felton
February 17-19

Academy Awards
February 26

Studio Tour
March 31, 2012

Username :
Password :
 Sign Up
 Forgot Password ?
 
 
 
Happy Holidays 2011   Pottermore: Slytherin   Pottermore: Hufflepuff   Pottermore: Ravenclaw  
Pottermore: Gryffindor   Quidditch World Cup   Halloween 2011   DHnagini  
DHelderwand   DH2cast   DH1Trio   DH Voldemort  
DH_Trio   Deathly Hallows - Hermione   Burning Hogwarts   Wizarding World  
Draco   Half-Blood Prince Trio   Harry   Hermione  
LEGO Harry Potter  
 
 
Change Background
 
  Twitter   Facebook   RSS   Tumblr