Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble

By: Erin Petti

Narrated by: Bonniejean Boettcher

It's time to face the music...

Just when 11-year-old Thelma Bee thinks she might finish sixth grade like a semi-normal kid, supernatural activity begins to spike once again in Riverfish, MA. From reports of wandering tree monsters to a local river shifting its course, something is weaving magical chaos—and this time, it's all by deadly design. When her school's a cappella group starts acting suspicious and a classmate goes missing, Thelma learns that sometimes dark magic comes in the most unexpected packages. Now, with her hometown on the line, Thelma must harness the ancient power inside her to heal the wounds of a dark local history and save the people she loves—she just has to figure out how.

©2022 Erin Petti (P)2022 Erin Petti

Toil and Treble is a gem!

I just had the pleasure of listening to this incredible audiobook, the result of a fantastic collaboration between writer Erin Petti and performer Bonniejean Boettcher.

Petti has written a carefully crafted story that I can see being appealing to the intended YA audience but has also strongly resonated with this adult. Petti generally leaves me with the notion that she's not telling a story, but rather is opening a door to the lives of a group of people who have real love, pain and friendships. Petti's loving attention to detail comes across in every page, and it's contagious. I find myself wanting to learn a lot more about this universe, so I hope we see more soon!

Breathing life into each of these voices is Bonniejean Boettcher, who eases the listener into the story with a warm, engaging narration. Boettcher deftly picks up queues left by Petti's writing to gift the narrator with her own character as she sharply portrays Thelma, Alexander, Izzie in clear, distinct voices all their own. I particularly enjoy Boettcher's subtle shifts in pacing to match Petti's writing, highlighted with an emotional range I haven't heard in audiobooks in a long while.

It's clear to me that both Petti and Boettcher are speaking each other's language, and it's a rarity to see to talents like this so firmly in sync. I would love to see them collaborate again soon!

A fun listen for adults, too!

From where it begins with playful, spooky theme music, Toil and Treble is an extremely fun listen! I enjoyed the story and narration every bit as much as the first book in the series.

I’m an adult without children; even though this is technically written for middle school aged kids, I found myself wanting to keep listening at the end of each chapter because I didn’t want to wait to hear what happened next. It was just the right amount of scary and I’ll absolutely be sharing this listen with my 10-year-old niece!

Perfect for a Family Road Trip!

My family (kids aged 9, 12, 15) and I recently listened to "Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble" while we were on a 5 hour road trip home from vacation. We had recently finished the first book by author Erin Petti and had already fallen in love with the quirky and endearing hero she created, Thelma Bee, so we were excited to follow her and her equally charming friends on another hair-raising adventure. Filled with more spookiness, more magic and even some encounters with things that go bump in the night, "Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble" was just as expertly crafted and captivating as the first book. (If you haven’t read "The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee" yet, definitely do!)

The narrator, Bonniejean Boettcher, did an impressive job of bringing this story and the characters to life. She has an amazing ability of telling the story with Thelma’s voice and humor and, incredibly, manages to give each character their own unique voice- making their personalities and words shine- and yet, goes seamlessly from story to dialogue. You often forget she is only one person and not a full cast.

All in all, the combination of words written by Erin Petti and performed by Bonniejean Boettcher make this audiobook magical. Perhaps the most magical part of Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble was the spell it cast over us all- keeping a family of 5 packed in a van for 5 hours thoroughly entertained. No small accomplishment! We look forward to listening to more from this duo!

Great follow up story for Thelma Bee

This is the second Thelma Bee book by Erin Petti and I am hoping there will be a third.

I have listened to both Thelma Bee books with my 9 year old daughter and we enjoyed both of them. I highly recommend listening to them in order for this book to make the most sense but it is possible I enjoyed this book even more than the first. It has more twists and expands the lore surrounding Thelma’s family. The characters from the first book are developed even further with new interesting characters introduced.

As a family story I would recommend it for ages 8+. There is a lot going on that may be difficult for some younger kids to follow but there is nothing inappropriate and it kept me interested as an adult listener.

Bonniejean Boettcher is the narrator of both Thelma Bee books and it is great to hear the consistent but unique voices for each character carried through.

Great family audio book!!

In a world of children’s literature, any book that seamlessly includes a reference to all people, at some point, thinking their sibling is a witch is entirely relatable and charming. The complex web of characters and interplay between their actions kept my children (ages 4 to 12) on their seats - even a bit scared at times! - and begging to listen to just one more chapter. Their attachment to Thelma’s story is a direct result of Petti’s deft pre-teen character development and recurring theme that “anything is possible.”

As for the narration, Boettcher pulls off the whole cast of characters with her vocalizations. The way she morphs between Thelma’s youthful, almost naive voice to Jesse’s - oh sorry, I mean Jenny’s - mean girl lilt to the gravely malevolence of the bad guy (no spoilers here!) is incredible. Simply put, Boettcher brought the story to life and my family can’t wait for the next book!

Cozy, Creepy & Perfect for Fall!

It's fall, leaves changing, pumpkins and fake cobwebs as far as the eye can see. Now all you need is the perfect cozy book to make your Halloween season complete. Thelma Bee is totally that book! Yes, you get all of the supernatural shivers and paranormal investigator hijinks. But you also get an amazing group of friends and family there to love and support Thelma along the way. Plus witches. Did I mention witches? A pitch-perfect spooky season read, and the audio is amazing!!! Love the music!

Fantastic Fun!

This is an amazing book! I just finished the audio book, and even though I am long past being a ‘tween’, I enjoyed the story, the characters, and, especially the narration that brought everything vividly to life! I highly recommend this book. You won’t be disappointed!

A fun magical story for the whole family

This is a great sequel to the first Thelma Bee book. It's a little spooky, but still kid friendly. The colorful characters and witty writing make the book enjoyable to adults. Thelma applies a bit of a science approach to everything making her a quirky lovable heroine. Bonniejean's narration really brings Therma and her friends to life. She is a perfect complement to the wonderful story.

Wonderful Storytelling

Great read. The narrators distinct voices brought each character to life. Very creative world building and story pace. Makes me want to see what happens next in the series.

Great Fun for All!

“Thelma Bee in Toil and Treble” is ostensibly a children's/young adult book, but as a 45 year old, I loved it. I believe that says more about the book then it does me, as it's a super fun read from beginning to end. There's a great interplay between science and the supernatural, with the character of Thelma Bee at the center encompassing both sides. All of the characters in the book have a unique personality and each of them have their own role in the larger plot, something not all writers can pull off and Petti does a wonderful job here.

With an audiobook, of course, a good book needs a good narrator and Thelma Bee has a great narrator.
It doesn't take long to fall within the spell of Thelma Bee's world thanks to Bonniejean Boettcher's narration. Boettcher handles a large cast of characters deftly, with each character popping from the page thanks to Petti's writing and Boettcher's ability to give each character their own distinct, fun voice. It's a great performance all around.

I have enjoyed both books in the series so far and I'm excited to see where else Thelma Bee will go!