Leaving The Bellweathers [With Earbuds] (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
- This was a really cute and humorous book!- The cover is a lot of fun, and after reading the book, I fell like it captures the Bellweather family perfectly!- I like how the font changes for Benway's journal entries.- Spider, Brick, and Sassy are terrible names for children.- The way that things are described is pretty funny. I also got a kick out of the names of things, like St. Whiplash.- The writing reminds me of Lemony Snicket's books.- I disliked a lot of the family members at first, and I thought they were all out of control and crazy, but by the end, a lot of them grew on me. I still don't like Ninda though.- I liked Benway a lot. He was such a funny character, and I really sympathized with him.- The triplets reminded me of the 3 little boys from Brave.- I loved the transition in the book, and I thought the ending was sweet.- This book is definitely for younger readers, but I thought it was fun. Tristan Benway is ready to leave...leave the Bellweathers that is. He is been their butler too long and his family's Oath of Fealty is almost up. He is ready for a Charming Cottage in a Warm Locale Far, Far Away. In order to finance his retirement he is writing a memoir of his time with the Bellweathers and it is sure to be a hit. For the Bellweathers are a unique and eccentric family. Dr. Bellweather is an inventor who likes to express his humor and displeasure by yelling and throwing things. Mrs. Bellweather paints and repaints the Lighthouse over and over again. Spider doesn't like going out during the day but does enjoy rescuing animals; as long as the animals are ones who maim, kill or poison. He is currently keeping an Endangered Albino Alligator in his bathroom. Ninda wants to Do Good and Help the Downtrodden, by force if necessary. The triplets are just plain destructive and crazy. They yell everything at the top of their lungs, but beware when they whisper. And poor Benway has been taking care of this family in Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay for too long, he his tired of cleaning up their messes, he is tired of the triplets using his suits for art projects, he is tired of finding hobos in his bed, he is ready for his Glorious Liberation and Oath Abandonment Time. This book has many laugh out loud moments. The Bellweathers are too funny and crazy to be real, but I really loved Benway's long suffering endurance. His journal entries after each chapter really made the book that much more special. I loved his retelling of the days events and his hopes for his future. You could tell throughout that he really did care for the family even though they drove him crazy. I loved the message of this book about family and realizing where you belong and not taking advantage of people or taking people for granted. The message was there but it wasn't super obvious and didn't hit you over the head, which Ninda would have done with it...I am sure she would have had a pamphlet of some sort. This would make an excellent movie (if they didn't mess with the story or the characters) so it is too bad Benway didn't go ahead and sell the movie rights to his book! Great read and one I am going to recommend.
What do You think about Leaving The Bellweathers [With Earbuds] (2009)?
I liked it more than I thought I would, although by the end I was over it.
—Tyler
