I said it before, and I'll say it again: I want Jinx. Don't get me wrong, I love my cats and wouldn't trade them, but one that can talk to me? Help me with work? Keep my calendar, etc.? Yes, please.

This is one of those sequels where not reading the first would be a problem. Understanding the world is easy, but the relationships between characters and the mystery of what happened to Monica Chan and what's going on with the bakus isn't. It also brings up questions about ethical uses of technology at a level that the target readers will easily understand.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

Lacey wakes up in the hospital after being there about a month. She knows that Jinx is gone, but doesn't quite remember how that happened. Her mother and school mates are all very concerned, and her mother just wants her to be well enough to go home. When she finally does, she's glad to get back to normal, and is glad to be with her warm and supportive mother, since her scientist father left the family a long time ago. When she heads back to Profectus Academy with just her lower level baku, slick, she is barred from entering. She gets inside with her classmates only to find that she is no longer allowed at the school because she no longer has Jinx, and must go back to her old school with Zora. When her mother's baku has an update, she becomes very detached, and even cleans out some of her cookbooks and letters from Lacey's father. Lacey is very suspicious that Moncha corporation is hiding Monica Chan, and that Eric Smith is in control and does not have the best interest of the public at heart. She thinks that Carter Smith might have been behind the disappearance of Jinx, and as her memory slowly returns, she tries to fit the pieces together. Her friend/boyfriend Tobias, as well as her other Profectus friends, want to help. When they all think that Monica might be being held at Lake Baku, and they pin down the location to a place very near Tobias' family cabin in the woods, Tobias invites them to a holiday party there. Will they be able to find Monica, keep the Smith's from spreading an evil update, and maybe find some secrets about Lacey's past?
Strengths: The idea of the baku is such an excellent one-- basically, a phone/computing device that is leashed to its owner and has an emotional attachment component. This is great but also super frightening in the wrong hands, as it happens here! Having just lost my dog Sylvie, my heart broke for Lacey while she was missing Jinx. There are a lot of twists and turns that I don't want to spoil, but I enjoyed the way the story meandered and covered several topics that I didn't expect.
Weaknesses: I missed being in the Profectus Academy, which was such a big part of the first book.
What I really think: This could be the last book in the series, but there might be room for another. The first book has been really popular in my library, so I would be okay with a third!

I received an electronic ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Kids through NetGalley.
Lacey's story continues in book two. It picks up when she wakes up from her "coma" a month after the first book ends. Her memories are gone and her life has been upended. She has been expelled from the academy and returns to her former school. Her mom undergoes a personality change and Lacey has no idea why. Then Jinx returns and together they figure out what is happening. She connects with her friends and they work out the evil nature of the latest baku update that will be released. Through trials and danger, they work out how to find Monica Chan and reverse the update, but not before it is rolled out to most of the city and Lacey has to deal with betrayal from one of her friends.
MCulloch writes to engage middle grade readers and pull them in as part of the action. In the beginning, Lacey is not able to make connections readers would expect so get a further glimpse into how much damage was done from the event at the end of the first book. We see her recover and regain her memories and abilities in a realistic manner. The relationships are also such that readers can identify with the dynamics.
I hope we see further adventures as Lacey and Jinx continue to mature.

This was a great sequel and I was so happy to have the story of Jinxed completed! Me and my sons have enjoyed this series and hope there are more to come!