A review by pandaorb
Jack Zulu and the Girl with Golden Wings by S.D. Smith, J.C. Smith

adventurous dark funny inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I've been anticipating this release since I finished the first installment of the series. I absolutely love Jack, Benny, Michelle and Myrtle itself, and I was so excited to explore more of the world beyond the Wayland in this sequel. 
We get to travel through Thandalia in this novel, witnessing Jack's struggle against temptation, and the growth of his relationship with Michelle's father, Steve, throughout. Once again, I loved every character, new
except Timman, about whom I screamed to my husband one night, "He is SO SUS"
and old. There were moments that made my heart swell, moments that made it break, and reflection and laughter in-between. I could not be more pleased to revisit this world that Sam and Josiah have presented. 
The only drawback was that pacing on this book felt a little off. It plodded along, dabbling in exposition until about halfway through, when all that lore started to pay off. Balancing the delivery of world-building insights with the action of a narrative is a challenging task, so I don't hold too much against the narrative for this, but I wasn't as enamored as with the first book. I also felt like this book was much more violent than its predecessor. It's not particularly graphic, but if you're reading with younger kids, you may want to do some screening. 
Anyway, the story ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm just as ready for the next one as I was last time! 
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