ALA Booklist (Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

This Snicket-like story is the rather unfortunate tale of three siblings, each with special and convenient talents, who are on the run from bad people pursuing them in the name of a three-letter entity, as relayed by a mysterious raconteur. Despite what you're thinking, these aren't the Baudelaires, they're the Cheesemans, and there are a couple of differences: they have only one dead parent (their father, a skillful inventor, is alive and well and accompanies his daughter and two sons in their adventures) and the object of desire is a time machine. There are, of course, plenty of additional similarities to the Series of Unfortunate Events series: the horizon-expanding wordplay, quirky characters, laugh-out-loud turns-of-phrase, and triskaidekamania (an obsessive enthusiasm for the number 13). Any story elements that feel derivative will likely only attract the book's target readers, who will eagerly embrace the entertaining narration of Dr. Cuthbert Soup, Founder of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice. The final pages bring an unsatisfying-to-the-point-of-being-evil sequel setup, but readers or listeners will enjoy the ride and will look forward to the Cheesmans' future adventures.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

This volume follows an inventor, his three children, and their psychic hairless dog as they run away from bad guys trying to steal Dad's latest invention, a time machine. An unapologetically intrusive narrator (` la Lemony Snicket) relates events. Though the author's pontificating is rarely as funny or insightful, Snicket fans craving something similar might enjoy this adventure.

Kirkus Reviews

Three children and their inventor dad on the run from government agents, international superspies AND corporate baddies are finally forced to take a stand in this picaresque debut. Thanks largely to warnings from their psychic dog and the ability to pull up stakes in a New York minute, the Cheesemans have managed to keep themselves and father Ethan's nearly complete time machine out of the clutches of squads of bumbling but relentless pursuers since the suspicious death of mother Olivia. Their luck is about to run out, however. Freely mining C.S. Lewis and Lemony Snicket for characters and plot elements, Soup also positively channels Dave Barry for type of humor, comic timing and general style. The result is less pastiche, though, than a grand escapade centered around a close family of smart, helpful, likable characters who run into all sorts of oddball wanderers on the road and show plenty of inner stuff when push comes to shove. Which it does, in a climactic melee marked by violent crashes, numerous minor wounds and a probable segue into a sequel. Great fun. (Fiction. 11-13)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Offbeat humor and wordplay by narrator Dr. Cuthbert Soup propel this very kid-friendly novel about inventor Ethan Cheeseman and his “three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children,” who are in hiding. After one of Cheeseman's inventions attracts the wrong kind of attention, he and his children (who are ages eight, 12, and 14 and get to choose new aliases with each move) spend two years “on the run, scarcely keeping one step ahead of these corporate villains, foreign intelligence operatives, and members of government agencies so secretive that no one, not even those who work for them, knows their names.” Throughout, Dr. Soup intersperses humorous advice for readers: his warning signs that one has selected a “bad doctor” include “he... has a tattoo on his left wrist that, when seen in a mirror, forms the name of an evil international weapons conglomerate.” The storytelling, which merges deadpan narration with an absurdist sense of humor, is the real star of this fast-paced adventure. Final art not seen by <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW. Ages 8–12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Jan.)

School Library Journal (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

Gr 4-7 Ethan Cheeseman, genius scientist, has invented the Luminal Velocity Regulator, a device that supposedly enables travel that is faster than the speed of light. Unfortunately, when spies, corporation thugs, and shady governmental organizations hear about the machine, they try to steal it, killing Ethan's wife in the process. The scientist and his children (ages 8, 12, and 14) have been on the run ever since, relying on their clairvoyant dog, Pinky, to keep them one step ahead of the bad guys. When the family finally finds a town in which they hope to settle, the villains swoop down to steal the LVR, but the kids, their new friends, and a busload of circus sideshow performers save the day. There is plenty of quirky, offbeat humor and little pathos in this tale. However, the narrative bristles with asides and bad jokes, and the author interrupts the story with short chapters giving advice on tattoos, choosing a doctor, and other matters. The inanity can be wearing and the characters (except for the youngest Cheeseman's sock puppet, Steve) don't quite gel into fully realized people. Still, those who enjoyed Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins) will find some of the same surreal qualities in this first book in a seriesand a bit more warmth besides. Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Voice of Youth Advocates

The Cheeseman family (father and three children who are practically odor-free) and their psychic dog must keep running to stay one step ahead of the bad guysùvarious corporate agents and international spies who want to get their hands on Dr. Cheeseman and his deceased wifeÆs latest and as-yet-incomplete invention: a time travel machine. In fact, some of these characters are the same men who have killed Mrs. Cheeseman. A host of unusual characters and groan-worthy hijinks keep the plot moving at high speed, although it is occasionally interrupted for a breather by the bookÆs author and narrator for some timely albeit unsolicited advice. The book seems to be seeking the audience that goes for the cheesy, silly, and slapstick, but it misses the mark. There will be fans for certain, but not the mass audience that Diary of a Wimpy Kid or similar series have drawn in recent publication cycles. The tongue-in-cheek narration tries a little too hard, which leads the reader to feel that a television laugh track accompanies the text. Still plenty of middle grade and younger middle school readers will scoop it up.ùCynthia Grady.