The Enchanted Files: Diary of a Mad Brownie by Bruce Coville

Angus is a brownie and travels across the ocean, from Scotland to the United States, to be with his new human, a girl named Alex. Angus is bound to her family by an old curse, but it also has a curious effect on the boys. They become obsessed with writing poetry, really bad poetry, and Alex's father even quits his job to write terrible songs. The only way to stop the curse is to return what the queen has lost... which happens to be her daughter... who happens to have died. Angus doesn't know how to stop the curse, and the curse won't let him leave Alex's family.

The conflict is a bit strange, but Angus's character is a strength of the book. Brownie's must clean for their humans, and his human likes to live a messy life. Angus only stands twelve inches tall, but he has a huge, quick temper. Some people count to ten to calm down; Angus counts to over a thousand! He's able to communicate with animals and even becomes friends with Alex's nasty pet cat. The plot doesn't create much suspense, but overall the book was entertaining. It kept my interest and made me laugh.