cover image And Maggie Makes Three

And Maggie Makes Three

Joan Lowery Nixon. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P, $12.95 (112pp) ISBN 978-0-15-250355-0

Nixon's larky sequel to Maggie, Too jets into action when the motherless girl settles at home in Houston with her grandmother. Maggie is angry because her father, a famous filmmaker, has married a young ""starlet'' in Italy. The girl starts as a newcomer in the sixth grade and immediately gets into a fight with Jerico and Carter, impish boys. They vow vengeance and, in self-defense, loner Maggie befriends another new girl, Lisa. But the girls' rivalry as members of the drama club breaks them up while Jerico and Carter become good buddies. The misunderstandings are finally cleared up, friendships mended and happily restored. Maggie's dad and stepmother come to see her and Lisa's performance on stage, and Maggie even likes the ``starlet,'' sort of. The best part of the story, though, is when Jerico and Carter keep the promise to get even, a hilarious scene. (812)