Figgs and Phantoms by Ellen RaskinE.P. Dutton & Co., 1974

Raskin’s books are always smart and lots of fun, full of wordplay and absurdity. This one, which is about a teenager who’s embarrassed by her eccentric vaudevillian family, wasn’t as endearing to me as The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) or The Westing Game, but it was still quirky and pleasing. Also, I can’t help liking a book where a love of the written word is such a part of the story — funny handpainted signs, a bookselling-uncle, an auction, first editions…