Annie's Adventures
Kirkus Reviews
Resourceful octuplets set out to discover the mystery of their missing parents. The offspring of a model father and a scientist/inventor mother, their unorthodox household includes a talking refrigerator. Guided by notes from an unknown source, each girl must unlock her secret power in order to receive a clue in solving their parents' disappearance. The presence of a villainous neighbor and the need to maintain the ruse that their parents are still around keep the girls too busy to be scared. This opener establishes a simple template for the series: The adventures unfold month by month from January to August, each volume focusing on an individual sibling's quest-in this case, Annie's discovery that she's a financial whiz. Narrated in the firstperson plural by one-or more?-of the sisters, the arch tone owes much to Snicket and the like. Weber's lively blackandwhite sketches highlight the humorous and fantastical elements of the story. BaratzLogsted's tales of thrills, suspense and hijinks should satisfy adventureseeking young readers. Book two, Durinda's Dangers (9780547133478; paper 9780547053394), publishes simultaneously. (Fantasy. 610)