No two books by Lois Lowry are ever the same!  Well… I guess she had a few sequel/series, but The Willoughbys is another unique entry on the Lowry shelf. 

I would like to say that fans of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” will enjoy The Willoughbys.  But I am NOT a fan of Lemony Snicket’s negative, no redeeming qualities, and depressing series so I can’t truly say whether they will like Lowry’s book.  (I’d venture to say Lowry was taking a jab at the Snicket books in creating this more literary work.) *

Like Snicket’s books, Lowry’s book assaults the sensibilities by including parents who are so uncaring that wicked isn’t an adequate description.  And there are oddities in it, such as Commander Melanoff’s desire that “if he were not such a decent man, he might be tempted to pat her [Nanny's] large behind affectionately as she bent over.” (p131)  Somehow I can set these aside (as I couldn’t with Snicket).  In “Unfortunate Events” all adults are either evil, or at best totally ineffective.   The Willoughbys includes the evil adults (in what feels like a not so subtle negative nod to Snicket), yet The Willoughbys offers the contrast of the good and decent adults in the Commander and Nanny.  (Commander Melanoff IS good despite his momentary preoccupation with Nanny’s bottom.)  And Lowry’s book slyly references all the classic orphan tales; in playing with themes of classic literature it is something akin to Fforde’s adult novel, The Eyre Affair.   Additionally Lowry’s book has an incredible vocabulary.  I admit, I’ve never used the word “lugubrious”!  The glossary and bibliography in the back are entertaining reading in themselves. 

I know I will be recommending this book to my teachers to read, however, I’m not sure how students will react to the narrative.  I know I won’t describe it to them as “funny”, for The Willoughbys can be called amusing or humorous, but not “funny”.   And it vascilates between fairly sophisticated humor and Napoleon Dynamite humor.  Perhaps Lowry was amusing herself with this book more than she was writing to an audience.  Yet it is my hope that students will ask me for Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, or the other classics after readingThe Willoughbys.  It should peak their interest.

* Snicket’s review of The Willoughbys in Publisher’s Weekly IS worth reading.  (Scroll to the bottom of the PW page for the review!)