I did not realize this was the second book in the series. I had no idea this was even a series. The book certainly didn't let me know. I thought it was just really weird exposition. I was super bored during this, but read it while waiting for a more interesting book to come in. Over and over again, I was missing sorely needed context to understand the characters, plot and world-building. This book assumed -hardcore- that people had read, understood and liked the first one. I had no idea the first one even existed. I felt like I was missing several jokes in this, and many allegories. I was not the intended audience at all. The secret under the city doesn't come into play until halfway through the book or so, when she and her friends resolve to go looking for it. The pacing is terrible. The entire book reads like a fifth grader rushed through their book report homework half an hour before they needed to leave for the school day; the book report being "recapping the first book and folding that information neatly into the second book to bring readers up to speed." Lame. I finished this book, and the interesting one I waited on had not come in yet. Sigh. ( )

In the final volume of the Olivia Kidney trilogy, Olivia tries to help her miniature friend Frannie find a secret plant that would allow her to finally grow; help Ansel Plover keep his job and his home (which is also Olivia's home); help a group of troublesome ghost children move on to the spirit world; and help herself learn that it's okay if she likes Reuben "like that," and that yes, it is time for her to start wearing a bra.
Olivia is always a likable character, and the Roald Dahl-like weirdness of the other inhabitants of her world are entertaining. This final book was better organized than the second, but not quite as good as the first.
(I can't imagine why the publisher changed artists for the third volume. The first two volumes had covers and a few illustrations inside by Peter H Reynolds, which were wonderful. This final volume ditches the illustrations within the book entirely, and has a pretty dreadful cover by a greatly inferior illustrator.) ( )

Well let's see. If you're a series reader, these continue to be fun. If you're like me and want to move on to new characters, new adventures, you'll agree with me that the first was worthwhile, the next are almost superfluous. Not bad, just not worth reading if you're drowning in TBR books. Humor, heart, fantasy, New York City, family relationships, puppy love, etc. ( )

This third of the Olivia Kidney books is the longer than the first two and is definitely dependent on the previous books for explanations. The spirit world, which Olivia straddles, is fully developed from the second book and explanations in this book are fleeting at best. I do not think you can read this without the others. Olivia's quirky personality fades a bit in this book or it could just be the supporting characters are pretty quirky themselves. There are several plotlines - Olivia's mother, her friend Frannie's search for a plant to make her grow, a little romance and of course the wedding of Princespessa with a few subplots. While I didn't enjoy this as much as the first two books, it was a satisfying read. ( )

While preparing for her participation in the princepessa's wedding, adjusting to being a student at a school for the arts, and dealing with surprise visitors at home, twelve-year-old Olivia ventures into the New York City subway tunnels in search of a man who might help her friend Frannie.