I picked this up by accident the first time, and without having read the first one, so of course I didn't like it.
So I went back, read the first one, and changed my stupid opinion.
Overall it was a fun story, and I thought the ending was the best, cleverest part of the book. I feel like Rodda had it all planned out first, and went back and wrote in the follow-up second. But I do wish that Valda (the villainess from Book 1) was worked in somehow. Or worked back into the series at all at this point. She seemed to be a major player, but now she's a non-entity?
Again, same problems I had with book 1: overly simple, not as complex, and I'm a 25 year old reading a book for someone 10 or 12 years my junior, so there's bound to be a disconnect.
I'd still recommend the series, though. They're quite cute.