Mama and her boyfriend, Vincent, are getting married. Planning for the wedding is fun, but looking for a new house is divisive. Whereas the previous book, Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat (2013), explored Violet's relationship with big sister Nicola, it's brother Dylan who comes to the forefront this time. His anger about the move is distressing to Violet, but it allows her to try out one of her new theories in an attempt to bring him round. With its gentle wisdom and sincerity, this series has made a space for itself among early chapter books, and hopefully there are more Violet Mackerel books to come.-- "Booklist Online, October 2013"
The thoughtful protagonist of Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot (2012) first develops her Theory of Leaving Small Things Behind when her family leaves the beach house where they've spent a lovely holiday. Then her mother and her boyfriend, Vincent, announce their plans to marry and move to a larger place. Violet's excited about the wedding but nervous about the move. Her older brother, Dylan, wanting none of it, relocates to a tent in the garden. The third-person, present-tense narrative convincingly sticks to Violet's point of view as she and her family negotiate this tricky time.... It is no small thing for a 7-year-old to cope with change. Branford offers chapter-book readers an appealing model.-- "Kirkus Reviews, June 2013"