Kipp is the son of invisible parents, who will inherit their invisibility at puberty. But his translucence has begun and Dr Tillgang informs him that the process will be complete by the time he is eleven, in 102 days.
There is also an uncontrollable invisible threat to
the town. An indescribable thing is making the townspeople leave to move to
Near Huggabie Falls, close by.
Felonias Dark who has left his badness behind, is one of the first drawn into buying a house in the new development by this indescribable thing. His brother Al, ignored all his life, has found a way to make himself seen and heard. Kipp and his friends Tobias and Cymphany are determined to discover what this thing is.
Felonias Dark who has left his badness behind, is one of the first drawn into buying a house in the new development by this indescribable thing. His brother Al, ignored all his life, has found a way to make himself seen and heard. Kipp and his friends Tobias and Cymphany are determined to discover what this thing is.
With Kipp slowly and visibly disappearing, time is running out for the friends who must save their town from emptying. They cross a moat filled with alligators, are saved by the witch Mrs Turgan’s talking goat Copernicus, get tied up in a silkworm web and caught in Under. After falling through the witch’s trap door, they miraculously escape on her broomstick. Cymphany’s bottomless satchel full of mysterious items saves them time and time again.
Things go from bad to worse when Kipp becomes
totally invisible and is left alone with Copernicus while his friends leave to
join all the others at Near Huggabie Falls.
Through a stroke of ingenuity, Kipp’s clever sister
Kaedy launches a logical verbal explanation about the mysterious indescribable
thing. With this knowledge, the now invisible Kipp sets out to try and save his
townspeople from Al’s wickedness.
Although the first part of the book may seem
chaotic and at times incomprehensible if you haven’t read the former titles, it
all becomes clear later. An important
issue expressed through the story is the subliminal ways that advertising
brainwashes consumers. This is cleverly reflected in Al’s acts whilst the
common human fault of never appreciating what you have until it’s lost to you,
also plays a major role.
I loved how sayings were interspersed through the
story appearing suddenly with their meanings in context in a seamless and
unaffected way.
Not having read the two previous books in this
series, I was grateful for the summary at
the beginning which gave me an
overview of the characters and a slight peek into past adventures. This allows
the book to be read alone.
Title:
The Utterly Indescribable Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls
Author:
Adam Cece
Illustrator:
Andrew Weldon
Publisher:
Text Publishing, $14.99
Publication
Date: 2 April 2019
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781925773453
For
ages: 8+
Type:
Middle Grade Fiction