From Publishers Weekly
From the author of The Indian in the Cupboard comes a gleeful romp with a pair of twins: one good and one evil. "The expansive storytelling and comic exaggeration produce high kid appeal," said PW. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. From the moment they are born, twin sisters Angela and Diabola are almost enough to drive their normal parents, the Cuthbertson-Joneses, to distraction. Angela is perfect. Diabola is perfectly horrid. As a toddler she kills the cat, starts a riot in the grocery store, and causes her mother to be jailed. Exorcism fails, so the only solution is containment?Diabola must be caged most of the time. Fortunately, her teachers decide her sadomasochistic drawing is the work of a genius so she is kept busy with art and relatively free of trouble. But when her father runs away in despair, her evil energies begin to grow. She pulls down the house, learns to start fires with her mind, and wreaks havoc through her telekinetic abilities. Only Angela can stop her, which she does in an epic fight of good against evil. Good wins, but somehow Angela ends up with one of Diabola's eyes?and a little bit of evil. Banks's absurd look at human nature is often bitingly funny. Diabola hates to bathe, but she likes "lying in very hot water and gnawing on hard foods like bones, so she was not as unfresh...as she might have been." No punches are pulled and Diabola's actions are not for the squeamish. But fans of the ridiculous, and of Roald Dahl, should enjoy this wicked romp.?Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
