SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Nate, Trevor, Pigeon and Summer are busy living their lives. They still get magical candy which they have fun with in secret. But then they notice some strange things happening at the arcade in the next town and some stamps that are worth an unimaginable amount of tickets. And Dart has gone missing. Is the owner of the arcade behind it?
RETURNING CHARACTERS
Nate is still our main character. We are reminded when he ends up being near the end, while others fail.
Trevor hasn't developed much from the last book.
Pigeon hasn't changed, although he seems to have a crush on Lindy.
Summer is the same, enthusiastic and willing to get her hands dirty.
Mr. Stott is now the adopted father of Lindy. He still hands out some magic candy, but he doesn't seem to concerned about the kids being spotted. He is protective of his new daughter.
NEW CHARACTERS-SPOILERS
Lindy has know idea of her past and how she lost her memories. She tries to press and learn more, but is frustrated to find no one will tell her.
The Battiato brothers are a pair of magical brothers with an unique magical ability that they share. There names are Ziggy and Victor and they are entertaining to watch, to say the least. They replace Dart, as the mentors of the group.
STRUCTURE
The story is set up where we learn about the stamps, then we work to earn them. There are twenty four chapters, and we get our stamp on chapter nine, and actually learn about the man handing them out. From there we go on our first mission. So we don't immediately rush into action.
PACING
There is actually a lot of action in this book. The missions are less about sneaking and more about full on attacks. If you prefer this over anything else, you will actually prefer this over the first book.
SEPARATING
Because of the way the stamps are handed out, the characters are separated. So we don't get them working together like before. There is still plenty of interaction, its just not when it comes to fighting. I do think the story may have suffered because of this. And later on, there isn't even the off the battlefield – talks.
We don't really see any change or growth in relationships between anyone. Pigeon and Lindy do have a scene where it seems Lindy trusts him the most, but it doesn't really play out in the rest of the book.
SIMILAR PATTERN
There are many things that are the same as the first book: new villain is after a dangerous item, and is using kids to get it. This makes sense, because we know kids can yield magic better than adults. But even so, I do wish there were some more creativity. Instead of fudge, we have nacho cheese. Its quite obvious this man is up to no good, like Mrs. White was. But again, these new kids are either dense or don't care to put their lives on the line, because they get magical abilities.
There is a twist at who the villain is, but it never has the effect we fear it might on a certain character. I wish there were more unique aspects that set it apart from the first book, and although entertaining, other than Lindy (who doesn't develop much anyway) no one really develops. It would have been nice if they had managed to make a new friend, and expand their group. But all of the new characters seemed expendable.
LINDY'S TRUTH-SPOILERS
So Lindy does eventually figure out the truth. But I was disappointed in the reaction. Yes, she was mad that no one told her, and upset, wondering if she could become that person again. It's clear everyone else feared that. But she seems to get over it surprisingly fast.
Perhaps we develop her more in another sequel. Only that would make her underwhelming reaction make sense. Near the end, Nate is told to keep an eye on her.
NATE'S TRICK-SPOILERS
There is a scene in the final mission where all of the characters are frozen, unable to move, their simulacrum's being used against them. But Nate is the only one it doesn't affect. Is if because of peak performance gum? We are never told. It kind of bothered me.
CLIMAX
Only Nate and Lindy are on the final mission team. There in an interesting finale of that mission, involving a huge globe. It's rather original, although some may find it confusing. I may have had to reread the explanation of what it did.
CONCLUSION
There are many similarities to the first book, but there is a larger component that is action based which makes it different. I wish the characters had developed more and we had seen more interaction between them. I felt they should have been seen discussing Lindy's secret and maybe had opposing ideas if they should ever reveal the truth. I give "Arcade Catsatrophe" three and a half stars.
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