"In this pleasantly rambling companion to Coman's The Big House (2004), Ivy and Ray's parents are finally out of prison, but Ivy anticipates further trouble when her father Dan announces his sudden desire to pay a visit to Gladys Mouton, a long-lost relative in Florida. ...Ivy's constant attempts to decipher the world and her creative interpretations of terms such as "real estate" and "twice removed" ("Ivy couldn't remember if that meant sent to jail two times or sent to two different jails") are often hilarious. Shepperson's comical and expressive pen-and-ink wash illustrations are also a delight."
     —Kirkus Reviews

"The road-trip mystery is fun, and the wordplay (“the plot sickens") and the wry illustrations feed the slapstick as Ivy tries to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. Anyone bored with the usual tales of family history searches will relish this tall-tale comedy."
     —Booklist

"The children are believable characters even while the events unfolding around them are somewhat extraordinary. They love and trust one another even though Ivy recognizes Ray’s gullibility and naïveté. The relationship between the two children is developed by a true artist. The third-person narration with omniscience from Ivy’s point of view gives readers insight into a child who is eminently capable of putting a positive spin on anything while dreaming of the day when she can take over the world, or at least become “Student of the Year." Coman has invented a family with as many grandiose dreams as character flaws; what holds them together is love as they work together to negotiate the minefield that is their life. Shepperson’s black-and-white illustrations sprinkled liberally throughout masterfully capture the emotions of the Fitts family."
     —School Library Journal