OOPSY DAISY

The flower friends play matchmaker in Myracle’s (Violet in Bloom, 2010, etc.) third volume in the Flower Power series.

With last month’s Snack Attack behind them, fifth-graders Milla, Violet, Yasaman (Yaz) and Katie-Rose are ready to take on a new project. Milla’s teacher, Mr. Emerson, is goofy and charming, but he’s always telling the class that he has “no one to go home to accept a dust bunny named Maude.” Yaz adores her teacher, Ms. Perez, and knows that she’s looking for her “Mr. Right.” Yaz is positive they’d be perfect for one another, so the girls launch Plan Teacherly Lurve to set them up. But romance isn’t the only thing on the flower friends’ minds. Violet struggles to adjust to her mom’s return from a mental hospital; Milla wants to rescue a classmate from the clutches of mean girls Modessa and Quin; Yaz finds herself unexpectedly enrolled in trapeze lessons; and Katie-Rose worries that they’re growing up too fast—although a certain boy has caught her attention. Myracle perfectly captures the nuances of fifth-grade life, where stinky farts are another form of flirting and brownies can make everything better. Readers will certainly relate to the girls’ struggles to grow up but not leave childhood behind just yet.

Milla, Violet, Yaz and Katie-Rose continue to charm; here’s hoping they have more hijinks in store.