A review by naturalistnatalie
Sticks & Stones by Emily Jenkins, Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle

3.0

Not as good as the first one, mainly because the authors reminded the reader who all the characters were. I had just read the previous book and have the ability to remember who characters are, so I found that part a bit boring. I did like learning more about Bax. Turns out, Bax's father has upside-down magic. He's always said he had fur allergies. Turns out, animals around him reflect his emotions. So, when he loses his job and is depressed, his house is surrounded by sad animals.The conflict in the book is again driven by the Sparkies, and more specifically, Lacey, the leader of the Sparkies. She wants to be the popular one and the Upside-Down Magic kids just don't fit into her box of normal. Of course, "normal" magic causes problems as well. It's just that people are used to those problems. The Upside-Down magic problems are different and therefore scary. At least the principal stands up for them.

Nory is up to her old, amusing fluxes. Her tutor is the kittenball coach and he's fascinated by the possibility of Nory playing as a dritten (a dragon kitten). Personally, I want to see the squippy (a squid-puppy).