The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs

This is the last of a trio of kids books that Ryan recommended that I read a while back. I'd never heard of them before, but apparently they had quite a little following in my generation.

Despite being the last book in the Lewis Barnavelt Series, this book switches protagonists to Rose Rita (Lewis's best friend) and Lewis almost doesn't appear in the entire book. Rose Rita is having a hard time adjusting to the idea of growing up. She's very good at being a kid. She likes running around, playing sports, and generally being pretty feisty. That she knows actual genuine magicians is a complete bonus.

Lewis is not as successful at being a kid. He's not very athletically inclined and he's a little chubby. In fact, he has a hard time keeping up with Rose Rita which is why he decides to go to Boy Scout camp that summer. Of course, Rose Rita can't go to Boy Scout Camp with him and she feels abandoned. The idea of Girl Scouts is repulsive but so is the idea of knocking around all summer without Lewis. She's angry. Boys get to have all the fun.

Mrs. Zimmerman to the rescue. Mrs. Zimmerman invites Rose Rita to accompany her to a farm in upstate Michigan that her cousin owned before he died. It's up to Mrs. Zimmerman to put his affairs in order and she'd like the company.  Soon the two of them a gadding about the small towns of Michigan sight seeing and having a good time. Things take a turn though when it becomes clear that Mrs. Zimmerman is under magical attack. Rose Rita finds herself on her own to figure out who's after her friend and deal with it before it's all too late.

It's a fun book. It's always a bit jarring when a series with a consistent protagonist shifts point of views like this but it's easy enough to adjust too. Rose Rita is an interesting point of view for the girls out there who are convinced boys get all the fun stuff. I know I was pretty convinced of it. Boy Scouts sounded so much more fun that what Girl Scouts was after all.