Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Having the same narrator for both books allows Johnson to keep the same zingy feel to the story and it works very well. The girls of the school are off on another adventure and this book is just as heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny as the first one.

This was a fun book that would slot well into a 4th grade class read if you were intro-ing new topics around France. I can also see this being a popular reading-club book when you want something light.

If I'd gone in knowing this book was a companion, I think I would have understood some of the devices (so. many. food references) a little bit more. But nevertheless, still a fun romp through Paris!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

Much like Johnson's How to Be Brave, this writing has a very British feel to it, which I think will be appealing to some readers, but could be confusing for others. I also like the inclusion of the footnotes, but if you are reading this digitally it can be cumbersome to go back and forth reading them.

Although this story is told by Good Sister June, it is a story about Edie (friends with Calla from How to Be Brave) and it is a story about how she stays true to herself, despite a number of obstacles along the way (parents head off traveling for a long period of time, grandmother wants to remove her from the boarding school she loves). When Edie returns to Paris with all of her schoolmates she decides she is going to thwart the plans of the thief trying to steal a painting from her grandmother (a painting of her grandmother with her first love, Agathe)

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fun, quirky book. It was fantastic.

Edie’s parents were activists who set out to travel the world so they left her with her grandmother Odette. Odette lived in a chateau in Paris with many rooms, but one room remained locked at all times. Only Odette was allowed in there, it is where she kept precious artwork.

One day someone broke into the chateau to steal a specific painting but Edie was able to scare him off. Odette took it as she was misbehaving. She then sent her off to England to boarding school. 

The story is told by Good Sister June. The headmistress of the School of Good Sisters. A school run by nuns. 

Edie thrived in school, learning so much and making lifelong friends. I loved the friendship that Edie had with Hanna and Calla. They were true friends with big personalities. 

I also love that it felt like anything can be solved with biscuits. 

Years later Odette invites the school to come to Paris and stay at the chateau. She tells Edie that she will not be returning to school. All while this is happening, the robber attempts and succeeds in stealing the painting again. 

Edie comes up with a grand plan that takes a lot of coordination all over Paris that involves everyone from school including the Good Sisters to help get back the painting. 

The story of Edie’s grandmother was told with such heart that it will tug on your heartstrings. 

There are many footnotes throughout each chapter. The author explains that it is for information that she remembers later on.  While I thought some were informative and clever, other times I thought it took away from the story. 

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an electronic ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.
A sequel to How to Be Brave. In this book, the focus is on Edie, one of Calla's friends. I hope this means a third book will come out to tell Hanna's story.
In this book, readers see Edie become the mastermind behind antics that are humorous and will be met with gasps of fright. She develops plots and plans to prevent her grandmother's painting from being stolen even though their relationship is frayed. We get to travel around Paris with the girls and the nuns from their school as they outwit the art thief. In the end, they not only recover the painting, but reunite Edie with her parents and her grandmother with her first love.
Johnson's dry humor style will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Her characters continue to reveal more about themselves throughout the book. The plot twists come quickly and keep readers focused to predict what may happen next.