In addition, I'm just not sure that Carter didn't do something man to his dad when they visited the Australian Outback. It wasn't clear whether that was a bad dream, a panic attack, or an actual flashback. Plus, it's more than a little bit irresponsible that the butler encourages Carter to drive the Bentley. None of the characters, including Carter's own mother show any sign of apprehension in allowing him to chauffer his little sisters around town as needed, and that part of the story really does nothing to advance the plot.
Description from Goodreads: Carter Jones is astonished early one morning when he finds a real English butler, bowler hat and all, on the doorstep—one who stays to help the Jones family, which is a little bit broken. Actually, Author Gary Schmidt seems to be trying too hard to combine a couple of things in this book. Not only does he write in artistic circles, but he also attempts to introduce readers to the game of Cricket. I've never seen a game of Cricket, so I wondered if he might educate me along the way. In short, the attempt was made, but fell far short of me understanding without looking up Youtube videos to figure out what he was talking about. |