A review by aylea
Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up by Taylor Tyng

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 Clara is starting at the Air Academy, eager to officially begin a life as an aeronaut. Unfortunately, when she arrives, she finds out she hasn’t been accepted like she thought. She has to compete as an alternate to secure a spot in the school. Worse, her friendships become more difficult to manage as part of a competition. And perhaps worse of all, a series of mysterious accidents and events make her think that all isn’t what it seems at Air Academy. 

 

One of my favorite aspects of the sequel is the evolving nature of friendships in the book. Clara continues to be surrounded by an interesting cast of characters, but as the characters get older and face new situations, their reactions to things change, too. Friends she thought would stand by her aren’t her friends anymore, and people she considered enemies might not be as much of enemies as she thought. 

 

The characters react strongly to the circumstances around them. Trauma, rivalry, and grief are woven together with hijinks, loyalty and respect. Both the adults and children's characters are interesting and varied, and just like people, you never really know how a character is going to react to the situations in front of them. 

 

The concept of gender bias comes up in interesting ways. At first, I was worried the book would be trying too hard to pander to that audience, but it took a surprising twist that kept Clara and me guessing about people’s motives and biases. It goes over teachers playing favorites or having their own motives that the students don’t always understand. The adults are often hiding the truth, and Clara has to figure out who to trust and what’s happening at Air Academy. 

 

This sequel is different in many ways from the original. It’s still charming and entertaining, with wacky adventures and characters, and it still has unexpected depth in things like grief and trauma. The setting, character shifts, and new characters keep things interesting and feeling new. 

 

My one complaint is that because of the wackiness of the story, sometimes the plot feels muddled. It’s hard to tell if Clara’s biggest concern is getting accepted to Air Academy, fixing her damaged friendships, or figuring out what’s happening behind the scenes that is putting people in danger. Because of this, the stakes sometimes don’t feel as important as they should. However, the hijinks keep things fun from beginning to end. 

 

Fans of the first book will continue to enjoy this series, and newcomers can read this book without necessarily reading the first (although I recommend reading the first to help people understand the character relationships, the world of aeronauts, and some of the more emotional moments). For a fun adventure full of friendship and balloons, you can’t go wrong with Clara Poole.