Having missed out on the Bland Sisters' first adventure, when they were kidnapped by pirates (though I will be seeking it out and reading it, now), I nevertheless was familiar with author Kara LaReau's work, having read and enjoyed The Infamous Ratsos (as well as have an ARC of the Ratsos sequel I need to finish). Here, LaReau channels a really cool combination of Lemony Snicket-meets-Agatha Christie, as Jaundice and Kale Bland are sent a mysterious letter by their world-traveling parents, askin...

Once again the Bland sisters are sent on an adventure by their well-meaning adventurous parents. This time they arrive at the train station to pick up their Aunt Shallot, only to be swept into an adventure involving magic, unusual passengers who all seem to be hiding something, a famous detective, a missing aunt, and marshmallows on the tracks. As Kale and Jaundice try to cope with being away from their nice, boring life at home, they learn about magic and detective work. Kale's love of cleaning...

This was delightful. It's full of clever wordplay and quirky characters and a nice, twisty mystery. There are jokes that only adults will get, making this an excellent choice for family read-alouds.

Available: January 9, 2018My thanks to Netgalley and Abrams Kids, Amulet Books for this ARC to read and give my honest review.DescriptionJaundice and Kale are back from their adventure on the high seas, and they are settling back into a quiet life in Dullsville, just the way they like it. The tea is tepid, the oatmeal is tasteless, and the socks are ripe for darning . . . until Aunt Shallot shows up and reveals herself to be anything but the dull relation they were expecting. Instead, she tells

This book is full of mystery and adventure! Kale and Jaundice, also known as the Bland Sisters, continuously work at the problem throughout this tremendous book. It is bursting with mysteries and secrets. My favorite characters are the Bland Sisters because they are smart. Kale is obsessed with cleaning. Since these exotic sisters are sent to spend time with their Aunt Shallot they have to try new things. A good example of that is " The Bland Sisters have never run anywhere together, on any occ...

Jaundice and Kale are (reluctantly) off on another adventure. This time, their (still absent) parents have arranged for the girls to meet their Aunt Shallot at the railroad station. Still recovering from their adventures of the first book, Kale and Jaundice are not ecstatic when the woman who shows up is a magician who immediately whisks them off onto the Uncanny Express. Magique (as she prefers to be called) is trying to break into the mainly male milieu of magicians. Her first show went horrib...

Awesome reading!I won this on first reads and am so very thankful I did.We are into very many different types of books, due to having different readings preferences, ages, etc. I love books from my age, my children's and the grandchildren. This one falls in between my kids and grandkids. It is one my daughter wanted to read and I had to make her wait for me to finish it. It is one that we can read to the grandchildren now and they will be able to read themselves when they are older. This is one

I had received this one from NetGalley a while back and hadn’t gotten around to reading it because it started off slow. I started it again last night and finished it this morning and it wasw more entertaining than I expected. I only wish the sisters had been more of a help in solving the mystery.

Originally posted on You Have Your Hands FullThe Uncanny Express is a middle grade novel written by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Jen Hill. This is the second book in the Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters series. I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book with my girls because we enjoyed reading The Jolly Regina, which is the first book in the series. After their pirate adventure in the first book, Jaundice and Kale are looking forward to returning to their bland liv...

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.This is the second book for the Bland Sisters by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Jen Hill. Aimed at middle readers, this clever book is full of wordplay and puns which will also appeal to adults and would make a fine family read-together.The writing is simple and often silly and uses the blandness of the unadventursome sisters (they love to eat cheese sandwiches on dry day old bread with flat soda whilst they darn other people's socks) to explore co...

The Bland Sisters are very...well...bland. They enjoy tepid tea, plain oatmeal, and watching grass grow. They live in the town of Dullsville. They darn socks to earn money. These are not daredevils by any means. And yet they have survived being kidnapped by pirates. So there may be more to them than meets the eye. When they receive a letter from their parents asking them to meet their aunt at the train station, they dutifully get to work straightening the house and even round up a wagon to help

The second Bland Sisters tale, The Unintentional Adventures of the Uncanny Express sizzles with clever word play and intrigue. The two placid sisters, Jaundice and Kale prefer nothing better than their predictable existence darning socks and watching the grass grow, or maybe even scrubbing out an especially tough stain for entertainment. Their complacency comes to an end when they receive a message that their Aunt Shallot will be arriving soon. As they go to the train station to meet her, she in...

This is the first book I have read by this author. There is so much to love. First we have the Bland sisters named Jaundice and Kale. From the minute I saw their names I knew this would be a very unusual book. This is a humorous mystery book with allusions to Murder on the Orient Express. The girls go to meet their aunt at the train station. They are snatched as assistants to the magician Magique, Queen of Magic. While on the train Magique disappears and they are assisted by the famous detective...

I think that kids will enjoy this second outing of the Bland sisters just fine, but every once and a while I have to forget these imagined kids and just say--I really enjoyed this book as an adult fan of Agatha Christie and as a fan of books in which characters whose hidebound routines are ridiculous start breaking out, even as the old dreary habits seem actually less dreary in their own right and more physiologically complex. Not sure if this is clear unless you've read at least the first book

Detectives AND magicians AND trains ... Jaundice and Kale end up aboard a train assisting a magician instead of helping their aunt with her bags, as they thought they were. Then, through some mysterious circumstances, they end up assisting a detective in solving not one, but two crimes!Life is never as dull as the Bland sisters wish it was, but their new friends and experiences help them grow a little closer to their absent parents. I can't wait for the next one!

Love this fun series! A very funny and charming read that can bring smiles to children and adults. Also, it's very well written. The suspense and mystery elements were well incorporated for how short the book was and for the younger age groups that it is written for. I can't wait to see where the author takes this series!

Book 2 of The Unintentional Adventures of The Bland Sisters is as fabulously fun as the first. This time Kale and Jaundice end up aboard The Uncanny Express - and become assistants to the magician Mystique who disappears! Then they become assistants to a great detective as they interrogate the passengers on the train who all seem a bit suspicious. With flavors of Murder on the Orient Express and full of clever word play, this book is sure to entertain readers young and not so young. Laugh out lo...

I absolutely loved the second unintentional adventure of the Bland sisters! Fantastic characters, witty puns/chapter intros, and all the quirky charm of Lemony Snicket, but with a much better story (I loved the mystery of the missing magician!). And bunches of bonus points for the feminist bent and wide array of wonderful female characters across the two books. I will definitely be looking for the next one in the series and will be revisiting these with Violet in a few months.

LaReau does it again with another series for children to fall in love with. The dichotomy of the Bland sisters and the adventures they have is absolutely wonderful. I couldn't put this mystery down and loved every minute. This is a series that I hope to see many more of and can't wait to share them with students. Kale and Jaundice and certain to become classroom favorites!