A Dolphin Wish (Glimmer Girls, #2) by Natalie Grant {Children's Book Review}

A Dolphin Wish

Glimmer Girls, #2

Natalie Grant

Juvenile Fiction

JOIN TWINS MIA AND MADDIE and their little sister, Lulu, as they travel the country finding adventure, mystery, and mischief along the way. Together with their father, their famous mother, singer Gloria Glimmer, and their slightly wacky nanny, Miss Julia, the smart and sassy sisters learn lessons about being good friends, telling the truth, and a whole lot more.

Sun, sights, and a watery mystery

A stay in the city of San Diego seems like it might be just the break the girls need--lovely weather and great sights to see. That is until they hear some animal handlers at Captain Swashbuckler's Adventure Park talking about the trouble they've been having keeping all the animals in their habitats. Mia and her sisters cannot resist a challenge, and they talk Miss Julia and their parents into another visit to the educational amusement park to search for clues as to what or who is helping the animals escape.

Can Mia save the day and help keep the beloved animals safe?

My Thoughts
If you follow my reviews you already know that I had mixed feelings about the first book, London Art Chase. There was so much that I liked about the adorable sisters and their world travels. I liked all of the details about London and I appreciated the very apparent faith of the entire family. But there was that one little detail that just nagged at me. And truthfully even after the second book it still nags at me.
Let me just insert here that I'm assuming that you're reading this review wanting to know details about the book and series. The rest of my review is going to contain spoilers but I'm writing this from one momma to another in order to give you a heads up. If you don't want to know . . . stop reading now!
The little detail was that TEN-YEAR-OLD Maddie snuck out of her hotel BY HERSELF and wandered the streets of LONDON chasing after a thief. Everything turned out fine in the end but I was not thrilled with the situation and then the fact that the book ended without any consequences being addressed.
Fast forward to book two, A Dolphin Wish. The family has left London and flown to San Diego for a few days of rest and then a concert. They are staying in a beach house and planning their outings for the coming days. Eventually (chapter 3) the wrong doing by Maddie comes up and we find out what her punishment was.

Good thing the night was dark, because Mia knew she'd made a face. It wasn't fair that Maddie had become the detective of the family. Maybe she'd solved the mystery in London, but she'd done it by breaking the rules. Her consequence for rule breaking had been no movie-watching on the flight to San Diego. To Mia, the consequence didn't seem big enough at all, especially since everyone was also treating Maddie like a hero.

"Let's admit, it wasn't a good thing for Maddie to sneak out," Mom said. "But I'm also so proud of Maddie for being brave and speaking up when she knew that something was wrong." (pg. 20)

I'm going to restrain myself from expounding on my true feelings. Let's just say that my version would be a bit different. I think one of the reasons that this disturbs me so much is that Natalie Grant is one of the prominent voices in the end human trafficking movement. Ten-year-old little girls alone on the streets of London are prime targets.

Okay on to the rest of the story. Again for the most part I liked it. The mystery was clever and fun to watch the girls work together to solve. I even want to go to Captain Swashbuckler's Adventure Park. I liked how the reader actually gets to learn some interesting facts about the sea life without it seeming like a lesson.

My only other concern is less intense. The story contains a 13-year-old boy named Jackson. Jackson is allowed to wander around the park by himself day after day. His father is in management at the theme park so presumably it's thought that the workers kind of look out for him I guess. Truthfully without the previous situation with Maddie I might not have even been sensitive to this. But can I just say, whatever happened to the buddy system? Kids really shouldn't just be allowed to wander around by themselves. We no longer live in that world.

So . . . would I recommend this book and series? Yes, but if I were the momma I would read the books for myself before I handed them off. Then I would use them as a springboard for some serious conversations with my kiddo.

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