Review: Whistle "A Well-written Fabulous Story"

Book review: The Whistle, the Grave, and the GhostI'm a huge fan of the Bellairs/Strickland books. The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost has everything all of the best Bellairs books have. It also has more. Much more. In this book we dig deeper into almost every character. We learn more and more things about them. Lewis Barnavelt, for example, is just as he's always been; shy, a bit chubby, thoughtful and persistent. But, in The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost, he's a few years older, and with those years comes just a little bit more wisdom. It's wonderful to read about how he deals with his trials through slightly, very slightly, more mature eyes. Jonathan Barnavelt is, as always, caring and jolly. We get a broader sense of his magical abilities, and for how much he truly cares for his nephew. Rose Rita Pottinger has also grown. It's a young woman (with that same heart and spirit of steel) that helps save the day. Mrs. Zimmermann, Jonathan's neighbor and bona fide good witch is, perhaps, the character that changes least. And that's as it should be. She was already just about perfect.

The most profound difference, and welcomed improvement, between The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost and most, if not all, of the previous Bellairs and Strickland books, is the antagonist. There's no campy explanation of world conquest a la Scooby Doo in this book: 'Well, since you're going to die anyway, why not tell you my brilliant plan! Ha! Ha! Haaaa!' This villain doesn't care for such things. There's no husband/wife or master/servant team of adversaries. This villain is alone. There's no bumbling magician trying to conjure an enormous and lethal spell he can barely control. This villain is very capably deadly. This villain is pure evil. Plain and simple. This is the most primordially terrifying villain of all the Bellairs and Strickland books. We get inside this villain's head, too. We learn not only what she does, but why she wants to do it. In the end, there are no loose ends. Every loop has closure. Everything works and makes sense.

Finally, this book, in all the right moments, is very funny. My compliments, again, to you, Brad Strickland, for bringing us the rare gift of a fabulous story. Not just that. A well-written fabulous story. Please keep it up. To the reader, the Bellairs/Strickland veteran and beginner alike, pick up this book.

Alex De Luca
August 18, 2003