Jaxom was kind of obnoxious. ( )

This is the second installment in the Beatrice Zinker series. In general I find Beatrice a likeable main character, and the story keeps moving right on, great for beginning chapter book readers, however, there is no backstory give on Beatrice, her family, her friends, or what conspired in the first book to help the reader along in this one. It can be a stand-alone, but will be much more enjoyable if the first one is read first. I like the positive attitude that Beatrice has, and if you have a student who has a no-nonsense nazi-style teacher, this will be the book where they can see their situation. ( )