cover image Zelda Strikes Again!

Zelda Strikes Again!

Lynn Hall. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P, $13.95 (151pp) ISBN 978-0-15-299966-7

Zelda Marie Hammersmith returns in this sequel to In Trouble Again, Zelda Hammersmith? to drive the people around her crazy with her antics. She crashes one funeral so she can practice behaving properly at another (that of her own great-grandfather), picks up some undesirable older men from the park, tries to engage an escort service (which turns out to be a trucking concern) in order to find a beau for her babysitter, attempts to sell lemonade in November and then sets her stand on fire when she heats it up for hot lemonadethe list is endless. With each undertaking comes a disaster, a scolding from Zelda's mother and then a maternal embrace. Zelda is not quite believable as a spunky, mischievous girl who means well. This book ends up being a series of wild episodes without a character to whom readers will relate. Ages 8-12. (September)