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The Headmaster, Doctor Norcross-Webb, is this jail bird with a remarkable debt to pay (it’s six digits long, in pounds), the curriculum’s extremely hands-on, and the Towers (Ribblestrop Towers, that’s the school’s full name) burned down because of some crazy kid from last term. It was once mentioned in Jessica Zafra’s blog, and It’s Fantastic. Honestly, how can you disagree? You never saw the Hogwarts kids getting lobotomized.

The school motto is “Life is Dangerous.” Very appropriate.

It goes without saying that I was an instant fan of the first Ribblestrop. I was wet with anticipation as I started reading the sequel, Return to Ribblestrop. Just when I thought that the magic, er, charming misdemeanor peaked in the first book, Return to Ribblestrop bulged with insane doses of that same absurd spontaneity. I was in love all over again.

That brilliant Andy Mulligan succeeds in twisting Hogwarts into juvenile hall, and he makes it fun, funny and spontaneous. If a playful satire of the Harry Potter formula was his purpose, then his Ribblestrop books are a shining success. Return to Ribblestrop, however, raises the bar with its unrelenting disregard for the characters’ well-being. This complements that preposterous set of incidents that lead well into the main storyline. And did I say it’s funny in all the right places? All the right places being all throughout, which is just about right.

If you think that those darling Hogwarts kids can use a little more spit and spice to their bearings, then you should be dead for not reading Return to Ribblestrop. This sequel has the same mix of delinquents from last semester’s roll call, but the addition of several curious enrollees makes it all the more explosive. Some of the new faces include Imagio, a Colombian godsend to the school’s football team. We also have the impish Oli, an engineering wunderkind who creates a detonating submarine. And then there’s Miles, a “reformed” psychopath who, at thirteen, learned how to do curses from a Filipino “witch-doctor.” (Philippine Reference Alert!) He’s got the scars and tattoos to show for it. Miles has played Russian roulette twice with this loaded gun he always carries with him, and I’m serious like a medical diagnosis.

This semester’s faculty also welcomes two additions to the staff. Flavio is a Brazilian acrobat who manages the zoo animals and coaches gymnastics. By gymnastics we mean tightrope-walking, double somersaults, and handstands. And we have Father Doonan, the school’s chaplain. He’s seventeen years old. I know. Crazy, isn’t it?

The Ribblestrop kids get involved in this car crash, burn down a motel, get mauled by a lioness, and it all goes uphill because that’s just page 50. This sequel has poltergeists, lionesses for adoptive mothers, legendary swords, and a circus; Andy Mulligan makes enough room for the preposterous in this sequel. He maintains the same pace he used in the first Ribblestrop book, which should keep the reader from getting bored. This mesmerizing mix of mischief and madness has equal doses of fright and folly. And you will not put it down.