Product Description

Things are not right at the Strega-Borgia castle. Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped. Signora Baci Strega-Borgia is struggling with her spells at the Advanced Witchcraft Institute.Titus and Pandora don’t like their suspiciously cheerful and fearless new nanny. Baby Damp has been accidentally shrunk, e-mailed, and lost on the World Wide Web. And to top it off, there’s a gangster in a bunny suit lurking about. . . .

This seriously over-the-top, gothic romp is sure to have readers clamoring for the next Strega-Borgia adventure.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165022 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-27
• Released on: 2002-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.com Review
Welcome to StregaSchloss, the ancestral castle of the Scottish clan Strega-Borgia. Ignore the sign at the gate that reads, "Warning! Trespassers will be (a) served for breakfast, (b) turned into frogs, (c) forced to eat Brussels sprouts." Cross over the drawbridge, try not to get eaten by the crocodile in the moat, ring the bell, and don't flinch when the butler, Latch, drags open the heavy door and intones "You rang?" Meet the inhabitants: Titus, 12; his sister Pandora, 10; the baby, Damp; their Mary Poppins-like nanny, Mrs. McLachlan; the grim housemaid, Marie Bain; and down in the dungeon, the large untidy house pets--a yeti, a griffin, and a dragon. Signora Strega-Borgia is away at her witchcraft class; Signor Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped by his evil brother, and at the bottom of the freezer in the wine cellar is the ancestral grandmother, Strega-Nonna, wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, waiting for a cure for old age to be discovered. Now get ready for some of the most deliciously bizarre and hilarious goings-on ever to grace a cyber-gothic-gangster fantasy. Pandora accidentally shrinks Damp with her mother's Disposawand and the tiny baby crawls into the computer modem and is whisked away into cyberspace; some spectacularly inefficient gangsters (including one in a rabbit suit) arrive and are up to no good; Titus sends his pet spider, Tarantella, into the Internet (mother of all webs) to find Damp; and Mrs. McLachlan comes to everybody's rescue in an uproarious finale to the most original fantasy in years. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
"Gliori's debut novel follows events after a 10-year-old waves her mother's magic wand and loses her baby sister in the modem, merging traditional fantasy with high technology," PW said. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Ever since Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia disappeared three weeks ago, kidnapped (unbeknownst to his family) by his evil inheritance-seeking half brother, the household has coped as best as it can. Signora Strega-Borgia decides to brush up on her magic at the Institute of Advanced Spelling, leaving Titus, Pandora, and Damp to the sensible ministrations of their new nanny, Mrs. McLachlan. Through a combination of misused magic, sibling rivalry, and an interesting interpretation of computer technology, baby Damp gets lost in the Internet and must be rescued by the household spider, who is a natural Web expert. Filled to bursting with an eccentric cast of characters, this extravagant tale combines magic, mafiaesque villainy, mythical beasts, foible-filled humans, and humor into a mixture that will appeal to fans of Diana Wynne Jones, J. K. Rowling, and even Lemony Snicket. There is a little too much going on, there are some characters with too little to do, and some elements go over the top-several stereotypical bad guys expire in gruesome and ludicrous ways, for instance-but the outrageous, tongue-in-cheek tone makes up for any plot deficiencies. Speechless baby Damp and Tarantella, the lipstick-wearing spider, whose trip through the Internet is short but enthralling, are particularly intriguing characters. Readers who want more of this clamoring clan will be happy to know that this is the first of a trilogy. Pure dead fun.

Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Pure dead fun
I read this book at approximately the same time as Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's "Shattered Mirror," and was struck by the turgidity of one and the originality of the other. This book manages to portray junior gothicism with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia vanished a month ago, prompting his household to deal with the situation. Signora Strega-Borgia is now working on her witchcraft course, and as a result the young children Titus (12), Pandora (10) and baby Damp (1 1/2) in the care of a new nanny. What else has happened? A henchman in a bunny suit, the baby getting uploaded onto the Web (fantasy for 2001!), the monsters in the castle (including a yeti, griffin, dragon...), a frozen grandma in the basement, and some delightfully over-the-top villains.

Indeed, this book may appeal to fans of Lemony Snicket, given that the lead trio (boy, girl, baby girl) is quite similar. This book, while equally amusing, does not possess the despairing tone but rather a darkly upbeat manner. There's also a bit of tech humor. Unlike the Harry Potter series, and like "Artemis Fowl," this book fully acknowledges modern technology, enjoyably inaccurate as the idea of losing a little sister on the modem. At the same time, we are granted more traditional items such as the attempted murder of a character by his evil conniving brother.

The lead trio is plenty of fun, smart and gutsy kids who have enough of an edge to be above-average. The villains are... well, villains. They don't really amount to much more, but the bunny suit is worth it.

That is not to say this book is flawless. A few bits of potty-humor spring up that got a bit tiresome, and there are some plot holes that you could throw a basketball through (such as the call for help). However, because of the quirkiness of the plot many readers may simply shrug and say, "Hey, it's fun."

Overall, an original fantasy. Hope the next two books are written!

A very funny and very weird book.
The weird Strega-Borgia family lives in their large (and very strange) home, known as StregaSchloss, in the Scottish Highlands. There's Titus, who's twelve and is obsessed with computers, his ten-year-old sister Pandora, who has a pet rat, and their baby sister Damp, who is... well, a baby. And of course their parents: their mom, a witch-in-training, and their father, currently in the captivity of his evil half-brother, as well as the cook (who actually can't cook for her life), the butler, and the nanny. Not to mention the various beasts and creatures that also make their home at StregaSchloss. Of course, the REAL trouble starts when Pandora dabbles in magic, shrinks Damp, and sends her over the Internet. This unusual, hilarious, and VERY WEIRD book is great for readers who like humorous fantasy books.

Great ideas in search of a novel
As Amazon.com's review points out, this story overflows with imagination, and may turn out to be a great example of post-Harry Potter juvenile fantasy. Combining the classic trappings of a magical adventure with modern children's fascinations with computers and techonlogy, she has created a book that is hip, fast-paced, and very funny. The characters are clearly depicted with definite, individual personalities. It's a shame that the plot doesn't live up to the quality of the prose.

While I enjoyed the book while reading it, I felt unsatisfied the second I turned the last page. It felt as if Ms. Gliori had so many good ideas, she was more concerned with cramming them all in rather than exploring any of them. From the start, we learn that Mrs. MacLachlan, the new nanny, is a former witch determined not to use her magic on her new job as nanny. Why not? Family parents Signor and Signora Strega-Borgia are currently separated, which is an important element to the story. Why? The reader is never given much real information, and that makes it difficult to become truly involved with the story.

Ultimately, then, the book is fun, but slight. With its short chapters, it might make a good book for teachers to read aloud to their students in daily installments, but for me, it failed to come together to form a strong enough novel to impress me as much as the works of JK Rowling or Lemony Snickett.