THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF JELLY BEAN

Pollack’s middle-grade novel, one in a series, continues the adventures of a charming New Jersey fourth grader.

Jillian “Jelly Bean” Kramer has already had a lot on her plate this school year, but with Thanksgiving just around the corner, things aren’t looking so bad—she’s scored in the best-friend department, palling around with the ever confident Britney. On the other hand, there’s tension at home: Michael, the oldest of her three older brothers, has become increasingly distant from his family and, against their parents’ wishes, he doesn’t want to go to college. Even more pressing (for Jelly Bean) is the fact that her mom won’t let her stay at Britney’s house—her mom’s chief reason being that Britney’s divorced convict father might show up. Jelly Bean tries her hardest to convince her mom, or whoever will listen, that she’ll be perfectly fine at her best friend’s place. Comfortingly, some things don’t ever seem to change: Her dog, Roger-Over, is her most reliable source of comfort, her brother Sam is perpetually “awesome,” and Joel, the youngest brother, is always ready to instigate a trivial argument. Change, however, is inevitable: Michael makes an unexpected decision about his future, and Jelly Bean’s grandparents, after a medical emergency, may have to move somewhere far away from New Jersey. “Well, life goes on,” her dad says. That’s certainly true, and Jelly Bean has some life decisions of her own to make, like whether or not she wants to remain committed to gymnastics. She knows she’ll stop by Britney’s home just as soon as her mother gives her permission—or maybe before.

As in the first installment of Pollack’s series (The Adventures of Jelly Bean, 2022), Jelly Bean is a delight. She’s naturally empathetic: She warms up to the new girl in school because she knows how mean some other girls can be, and she almost instantly regrets yelling at her mother in frustration. She’s a believable young girl who often rolls with the punches, even when it appears her “world is coming apart.” Still, she can’t help but react to Joel’s never-ending ridicule; if they’re in the same room together, a fight is practically guaranteed. Pesky siblings aren’t all readers will relate to—topical subplots follow a fellow student’s eating disorder, a family tragedy, and Britney living with her family in “the worst part of town” (the real reason, Jelly Bean speculates, that she’s not allowed to visit her friend). The book has plenty of feel-good moments as well—Roger-Over enlivens every scene he’s in, sometimes merely with the sounds of a dog getting more comfortable while resting. Britney is an invaluable confidence-booster and consistently proves herself to be a great friend. Pollack’s bright, unadorned prose lends itself to this fourth grader’s perspective; everyday life for Jelly Bean is overflowing with smaller adventures that she braves at school, family outings, or sometimes without even leaving her house. Considering that the first two series installments barely cover a year of Jelly Bean’s life, further sequels featuring this likable hero are a strong and welcome possibility.

A winsome series lead effortlessly carries this breezy tale.