Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons-twin sisters Wiki and Leen-are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. It’s a jumble, but one that’s made up of feel-good set pieces.Ĭan this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness. Nevertheless, along with turning her increasingly self-confident protagonist’s fondness for spontaneous twirling into a thematic leitmotif, she salts the narrative with wonderfully silly words (“Sardoodledom”!) and the cast with (aside from a now-requisite bully) helpful, warmhearted allies. Law does not write for readers who like logically consistent premises and orderly plots.

Nonetheless, the Beaumonts hie off to Colorado to pick up Grandma Pat and then chase her through Denver when she wanders out into a snowstorm. Likewise, her formerly perfect mother turns accident-prone, her once-invisible big brother now unpredictably bursts into all-too-visible flame, and little Tucker farts and turns into a giant when upset. Just as the Beaumonts decide to take in ill-tempered Grandma Pat, who is showing worrisome signs of “Old-Timer’s disease” (i.e., Alzheimer’s), 13-year-old Gypsy’s new “savvy” to glimpse (but not alter, despite her best efforts) future scenes switches to an ability to stop time-for all the universe except, as it turns out, Pat and everyone else who shares her birthday. Steep learning curves and near catastrophes ensue. In this second sequel to the Newbery Honor–winning Savvy (2008), the Beaumont family’s unusual abilities turn inside out.

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