I absolutely loved the first book in L.D. Lapinski’s The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series. A story about travelling to different worlds through suitcases is my kind of story (you can read my review here). After Flick and Jonathan’s first adventure, I was desperate to go back to Strangeworlds and see where they went next. The second book in the series, The Edge of the Ocean, has just been released and it was everything I hoped for, and more.

After arriving back home quite late from her adventure in the City of Five Lights, Flick is in a whole heap of trouble with her parents. She is grounded for the whole of the summer holidays. After bumping in to Jonathan in the supermarket Flick comes up with a plan to get back to Strangeworlds. Jonathan receives an urgent summons from Pirate Queen Nyfe, so Jonathan and Flick travel to the world of The Break. This is a world of ocean and islands, pirates and mer-people, but it is shrinking by the day. Magic is being taken from their world and bits of it are breaking off and disappearing. Queen Nyfe has summoned Jonathan in the hope that he can help the inhabitants of The Break escape before it is too late. When the suitcase is stolen from Flick they know that they need to retrieve it, otherwise no one will escape this world. Flick, Jonathan, and Avery must figure out how to save everyone, from the inhabitants to their ships, using just a small suitcase.

The Edge of the Ocean is a brilliant sequel, that adds depth to the story arc, while being a rip-roaring, page-turner of a story in its own right. It’s a story of a rescue mission, filled with adventure, mystery and magic. Like any rescue mission there are risks but Jonathan, Flick and Avery do anything they can to alleviate these. One of the things I loved most about the first book was Jonathan and Flick hopping through suitcases to show Flick new worlds. I was worried that there wouldn’t be much of this in this book, but I wasn’t disappointed. They still visit plenty of worlds while trying to find a new home for the inhabitants of The Break.

L.D. Lapinski ensures that her cast of characters is diverse and I really like that. Her characters are unique and interesting, and I love how you learn something new about them with each book. Jonathan is transgender, which was hinted at in the first book. I don’t think it is explicitly stated that he is transgender, but L.D. Lapinski has talked about this in interviews. It is also hinted, in this book, that Jonathan is gay (he has a slightly embarrassing interaction in the supermarket with a guy he knows from college). Flick develops feelings for Jonathan’s cousin Avery in this book (Avery feels the same) and it’s possible that their relationship could develop in the next book. I love the way that these details about the characters are just part of who they are, rather than it being explicit that they’re transgender or gay. There will be readers that hugely identify with Jonathan or Flick because of their identity and those who just love the characters because they’re brave, adventurous and funny.

Families are an important part of this book too. Flick’s family were scared and worried when she when she returned late from the City of Five Lights in the first book, and they ground her to keep her at home. Flick is then conscious that she can’t do the same thing again and let them down. Jonathan has been looking for his missing father for months, with no sign of him. The Pirate Queen gives him some information that leaves him distressed. Flick and Jonathan are themselves a little family, as they are part of the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, and Jonathan’s cousin, Avery, joins them on this adventure. Without giving spoilers, there are also some intriguing family connections revealed in this book.

The ending of The Edge of the Ocean was incredibly exciting and made me desperate for the third book. I can’t wait to see where L.D. Lapinski takes us next!