Applewhites at Wit's End

Jack Semple and E.D. Applewhite are back, in this middle-grade sequel to Stephanie S. Tolan’s Newbery Honor Book Surviving the Applewhites.

Teenager E.D., the not so artistic, not at all eccentric member of the unconventional Applewhite clan, can't believe the plan her father has hatched to save the family from financial disaster. He's decided to transform their rural North Carolina farm into a summer camp for creative children.

Soon the farm is packed with temperamental artists, out-of-control campers, and an even more out-of-control goat. It's all a little too much for structure-loving E.D., even before threatening notes begin appearing in the family mailbox. Together with Jake Semple--the boy who survived his first year in the Applewhites' home school—she's determined to save the camp and the family from disaster.

Like Carl Hiassan’s Chomp, Applewhites at Wit's End combines outrageous humor and the frustrations and joys of being part of a family.

Can one organized girl, a reformed delinquent, and a camp full of quirky kids solve a mystery and save the family farm?

• An Eccentric Family: Meet the Applewhites, a clan of famous artists so creative they can’t manage their own finances, much to the frustration of practical-minded E.D.
• A Summer Camp Adventure: When their farm becomes Camp Eureka!, it’s up to E.D. and Jake to manage out-of-control campers, temperamental relatives, and one very, very bad-tempered goat.
• A Whodunit Mystery: Just as things reach peak chaos, threatening notes appear in the mailbox. Who wants the Applewhites to fail, and why?
• Found Family: Former troublemaker Jake Semple is back, and this time he’s not just surviving the Applewhites—he’s helping them survive.