October 15, 2018
Carter Jones' family inherits the services of a "gentleman's gentleman" with a passion for cricket just when they most need him.Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick arrives in a purple Bentley at their New York state home during a downpour on the morning of Carter's first day of sixth grade. The Butler, as Carter thinks of him, helps with Mary Poppins-like efficiency and perceptiveness to organize and transform the chaos of a household with little money, four children, a father deployed overseas, and a gaping hole. Six-year-old Currier died three years ago, and Carter carries his brother's green shooter marble like a talisman. Carter's memories of a more recent wilderness trip with his father are filled with deep sadness and foreboding. Meanwhile, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick (amusingly snobby about pizza, television, and American slang) encourages Carter to step up, to play a bigger role in his sisters' lives--and to learn to play cricket. Schmidt convincingly conveys the zany elegance and appeal of the game without excessive explanation. Though the newly formed middle school cricket team includes boys surnamed Yang and Singh, none of the characters are described by race, and the primary cast is assumed white. Schmidt gracefully weaves together the humor of school, siblings, and a dachshund with a delicate digestive system with deeper themes of family connection, disappointment, anger, and grief. The result is wonderfully impressive and layered. (Fiction. 10-13)
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November 1, 2018
Gr 4-8-Young Carter Jones opens the front door one morning to find an English butler on his doorstep. Sent to the Jones family by his late grandfather, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick reforms the household with his wit, precision, and commitment to decorum. As Carter deals with his father's deployment, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick also takes on the role of emotional caretaker and support for Carter. Together, they play cricket and learn that the rules of the game are also the rules for a healthy and happy life. Schmidt, author of the celebrated Wednesday Wars, strikes gold again with this emotionally complex character who learns to navigate change and disappointment, and, more important, how to receive help. Schmidt writes with a clear and compelling voice, and masterfully crafts Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick as an endearing family helper and friend with a Mary Poppins-like disposition. The use of cricket as a narrative tool to embolden Carter is clever and will surely peak young readers' interest in the sport. VERDICT A rich and nuanced middle grade novel that will appeal to readers who feel a little on the outskirts.-Katherine Hickey, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from December 1, 2018
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Pandemonium reigns in the Jones household (mother, son, three younger daughters, and one excitable dog) on the first day of school at 7:15 a.m., when 12-year-old Carter answers the doorbell and meets the Butler. This portly Englishman immediately begins to put things right, offering his services to Mrs. Jones and explaining that he was willed to the family by his late employer, the children's grandfather. Their father is an army captain deployed in Germany. Initially wary of the Butler, Carter resists his quiet authority, but slowly begins to trust the man, who teaches him to drive the Bentley, organizes a wildly popular cricket match at his middle school, and offers him implicit guidance when he needs it most. The Butler is a distinctive character with dry wit and an unshakable sense of purpose. While comparisons with Mary Poppins may be inevitable, the only magic here is the everyday kind brought about by broad understanding, sensible actions, and uncommon courtesy applied over a period of time. Not so much an unreliable narrator as an evasive one, Carter has things on his mind that initially he's not ready to deal with, much less communicate to others. Yet his engaging narrative leads readers through a broad range of emotions in this beautifully written, often amusing, and ultimately moving novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2019
Sixth grader Carter Jones misses his soldier father, currently deployed in Germany; he misses his dead brother; he misses any semblance of normalcy in his life. When Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick, a butler bequeathed to his family by his recently deceased paternal grandfather, arrives on his doorstep on the first day of middle school, things do not get any closer to normal. Inserting a proper British butler into a suburban American household provides ample opportunities for Schmidt to lighten an otherwise-tragic tale, such as when the butler introduces Carter and his classmates to the sport of cricket and, with it, the concepts of proper etiquette, responsibility, and knowing oneself. Deft incorporation of comedic scenes and Schmidt's trademark use of narrator-provided snark give the story the levity it needs to counteract the surprising number of tears readers are likely to shed. Interspersed with the main narrative of the budding relationship between Carter and the imperious, cricket-loving butler are flashbacks to Carter and his father's Australian camping trip the previous summer; the trip's significance grows as readers learn more about father and son. Schmidt balances these parallel narratives with remarkable finesse, carefully allowing Carter to connect the dots for readers at just the right moments. The reappearance of characters from his previous books (another Schmidt hallmark) will gratify fans. And don't worry: cricket rules and definitions helpfully precede each chapter, so that by the novel's conclusion?by which time Carter's whole school is obsessed with the sport?readers will be cheering on each over and every wicket. eric carpenter
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)