Pearl Littlefield returns in this terrific companion to Ten Rules for Living with My Sister by Ann M. Martin. Pearl's family plans to spend the summer traveling the Wild West. But before the vacation kicks off, her father loses his job.
The Littlefields must make sacrifices, including changing their vacation to a staycation. Nevertheless, summer brings adventure, camp, a fight with her new best friend JBIII, (short for James Brubaker the Third) and Pearl's first business venture with JBIII (once they make up). Though technically a sequel to Ten Rules, readers do not need to have read it to enjoy Ten Good and Bad Things. Pearl's first-person narration adheres to an outline (whose bullet points serve as chapter openers) that Pearl is completing for her first fifth grade assignment, reflecting on her summer.
Her easy humor will quickly win over readers, as when Pearl tries to remember the names of her fellow campers by using a chart with each camper's name, age and "comments, if any," such as Eliza, who "has already cried twice." Pearl's complete awareness of her faults and tendencies make her a likable, precocious narrator. Full of wonderful, wholesome characters, Ten Good and Bad Things is a great read. --Kyla Paterno, trade book buyer and blogger, Garfield Book Company at PLU