The Poppy Mayberry series is a Middle-Grade book written by Jennie K. Brown, and “Return to Power Academy” is the second installment. I read this because her first Poppy story turned out to be so much fun. As I mentioned in a review, I was hesitant about the first book, but I dove into this one with few doubts.
If you don’t already know, Poppy lives in Nova; a place where you have powers according to the day of the week you were born. If your powers are lacking, you are sent to Power Academy over the summer (whether you like it or not) which is where book one takes place.
In book two, Poppy and friends are asked to return to Power Academy as counselors but of course, things immediately seem suspicious and Poppy’s gang has a whole new mystery to solve. This mystery is a bit more dangerous than what our determined character had to solve in book one.
I loved this book because while the first story gave me the negative flashbacks of elementary school such as annoying girls, stupid teachers, and gross boys, this book gave me all the good flashbacks. This time around Poppy has more confidence, stronger relationships with friends and teachers, and oh- um, is that maybe a ♥crush brewing♥?
Would I have liked this if I were a kid? I think so. I was never a strong reader and was challenged to stay attached to books because I lost interest too fast. I’ve mentioned in other posts that I have slight dyslexia and probably would have been diagnosed with ADHD as a child had it been better known of at the time. However, Poppy Mayberry would not have been a problem because Poppy herself is always bouncing around from one thought to the next. Not only that, the story moves along too quickly to allow a reader to get bored and the mystery keeps you wanting more.
Return to Power Academy is a wonderful flashback to innocence when friends were new and true, and boys were starting to look cute. On top of this, there is a quick-paced mystery to be solved with new characters introduced and old secrets slowly becoming uncovered. I really liked the way this book evolved so naturally from the first one and look forward to seeing how book three has our lovely characters grow.
Ps – this adds 186 pages to my Page Challenge hosted by Book Dragon’s Lair. My total so far is only 630 pages. (I’m not including all the picture books I read.) I better hustle if I want to reach my “Bonsai” goal.
Pss- I’m a Friday so my power would be Invisibility. What’s your power?
INGRID E FABER 