While no one knows everything, this follow-up volume to The Girl Who Could Fly (2008) has the same great premise as the first: that special gifts can be wonderful and also cause a peck of trouble. Conrad Harrington III is supersmart, but he definitely doesn't know what the future holds. Piper McCloud, the girl who could fly and the heroine of the first book, is back with her loving parents, who seem to gladly take on the whole crew of exceptional friends who met at evil Dr. Letitia Hellion's school, where they were being treated to become "more normal." Conrad's work on a time-travel machine pays off in a crisis, and the group of gifted kids coalesces around the idea of using their special abilities to prevent disasters and rescue others in need. Unfortunately, this attracts attention, and Conrad's mother, currently the first lady of the United States, arrives, saying Conrad's sister is in peril, and only Conrad can save her. Conrad is off to the rescue, taking readers beyond science fiction and into fantasy as events unfold. Classic quest elements are present, as is the unending battle between good and evil. Forester provides plenty of action, engagingly spunky (if fairly two-dimensional) characters, and sufficient length to bring resolution to most elements of the plot, though sometimes at the expense of logic. While critical thinkers may not find this particularly coherent, those willing to go with the flow will enjoy the ride. (Fantasy. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The sequel to the best-selling The Girl Who Could Fly (2008) centers on Piper's friend Conrad Harrington, son of the soon-to-be president, whose special talent is that he is smarter than the average genius. Now living happily on Piper's family's farm, he is willing to let the bad times go, but, not surprisingly, trouble finds them both. This follow-up is less focused and more expansive than the previous title. There are oodles of characters to keep track of, and the second half, in which the children, now part of a larger prophecy, find themselves in a mysterious world, seems almost like another book. What keeps this centered when the action soars in many different directions from the farm, to the White House, to the secret world is the firm friendship of Piper and Conrad. Even though this is mostly Conrad's story, it is Piper's steadfastness that keeps it from flying away. Both kids will need that anchor when they face a dangerous enemy in the next book.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2015 Booklist

Gr 5-8-The long-awaited follow-up to The Girl Who Could Fly (Feiwel & Friends, 2008) finds Piper ("the girl who could fly") and Conrad ("the boy who knew everything") living in relative calm on Piper's family farm. Some time has passed since they and their fellow exceptional children escaped Dr. Hellion's prison of a school, yet the calm lasts only briefly as a few disparate events quickly unfold and turn everything upside down. In quick succession, the near death of Piper's beloved father, his father's election to the presidency, and a successful experiment in time-bending spurs Conrad to finally step up as leader of their band of misfit children. Under Conrad's tutelage, the kids carry out anonymous goodwill missions in response to fishy "natural" disasters. Yet their mission proves far from straightforward. Who is behind these disasters? Is there indeed a secret place where exceptional kids are free to be themselves? As in its predecessor, this installment straddles the real and the imagined. At times, this blend coalesces beautifully, but often it proves a bit clunky. The folksy colloquialisms uttered by Piper and her parents still feel out of place, leaving readers a little unsettled as to the setting. Its greatest strength emerges when the tale balances quiet moments of self-realization, identity, and friendship with an action-packed plot. VERDICT Fans of The Girl Who Could Fly will embrace this sequel.-Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Super-genius Conrad and his supernaturally gifted friends train together to avert natural disasters, but in Xanthia, a place where gifted people live hidden away, they learn the disasters are engineered by a gifted person to make himself immortal. This sequel to The Girl Who Could Fly lags due to a weak structure, but Piper and Conrad's fans will enjoy the dramatic action. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.