Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house-and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw-Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and-most serious-civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves-during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. Armed with her inhaler, practical Ophelia proves a formidable heroine in a frozen landscape.Ī well-wrought, poignant and original reworking of Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” (Fantasy. Alternating between Ophelia’s bizarre quest to save the boy and the retelling of his story, the intense plot moves Ophelia beyond grief to fulfill what she realizes is her destiny. Though she’s unsure she believes the boy’s fantastical story, Ophelia gradually heeds an inner voice urging her to follow her heart. A spell preventing the Snow Queen from killing the boy expires in three days, when he will die and the world will freeze unless Ophelia can free him, locate his magical sword and identify the “One Other” to defeat the Snow Queen. While her curator father organizes an exhibition of swords, Ophelia wanders the vast museum until she discovers “The Marvelous Boy,” trapped by the Snow Queen for three centuries in a hidden room.
Grieving her mother’s recent death, Ophelia arrives in a snowy “foreign city” with her father and sister.
Eleven-year-old Ophelia faces her fears to help a nameless boy imprisoned in a surreal museum by the evil Snow Queen in this contemporary fairy tale.Īn asthmatic girl who believes in science and eschews fantasy, Ophelia’s curious but admittedly not very brave.
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