Primrose Squarp is back! The too-cute girl from Everything On a Waffle (no need to read first) is relieved to have her parents back after they were lost at sea. Now she is ready to tackle new problems in her beloved town of Coal Harbor.

First, she has to help her Uncle Jack marry Miss Bowzer, the owner of the local eatery. His plans to open a rival restaurant across from Miss Bowzer’s restaurant, The Girl on a Red Swing, are making this very hard! Then there are the loggers who have moved in to tear down all the trees on beautiful Mendolay Mountain. There is also the need to save Ked, her new best friend, who is being fostered by the people who looked after Primrose while her parents were missing. Phew!

However, none of this deters Primrose who sets about making everything dear to her right. Not only is this book ridiculously funny and slightly eccentric, it’s thoughtful, poignant and beautifully written. Polly Horvath is my favourite middle-fiction author of all time!

For ages 9 and up.

Katherine Dretzke is a bookseller at Readings Hawthorn.