Gr 2-4--The second book in the series focuses on Ellie's struggle to be accepted. When Ellie and her friends help their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Curran, by fixing up her house, the older woman believes that Toby, not Ellie, is responsible for the engineering and building. Ellie and her friends work to convince Mrs. Curran that girls can be engineers, too. The plot delves more deeply into gender stereotyping than the first installment, and the protagonist's frustrations are something with which many young girls will identify. Ellie is an intrepid problem-solver who knows who she is and what she loves to do. She is able to stand up for herself and, eventually, convince Mrs. Curran that girls and women can do and be anything. Illustrations of Ellie's creative ideas and designs are included as is as a guide to simple machines. VERDICT A solid STEM-themed book with a strong focus on empowering young women to embrace and pursue their interests.--V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Jackson Pearce lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of a series of teen retold fairy-tales, including Sisters Red, Sweetly, Fathomless, and Cold Spell, as well as two stand-alones, As You Wish and Purity. As J. Nelle Patrick, she is the author of Tsarina. In addition to The Doublecross and The Inside Job, her middle grade novels include Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures, co-written with Maggie Stiefvater.
www.jacksonpearce.com
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