The third book in the delightful series about the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, whose suitcases transport travelers to other worlds. Twelve-year-old Flick Hudson and 18-year-old Jonathan Mercator here plumb further mysteries about the Strangeworlds Society, caretakers of the multiverse, and about the dangerous threat to the multiverse that seems to be gaining power. Fans of the previous two books will love this one, which shows Flick, Jonathan, and their friends and family members working to save the multiverse while also unravelling the ongoing mysteries about their own families, born and chosen. The relationship between Flick and Jonathan’s female cousin Avery, who have long had crushes on each other, also develops further.
Jonathan is subtly cued as transgender, and author L. D. Lapinski has confirmed this, but his trans identity is incidental to the plot. There are also hints that he is attracted to other men.
Fun and fantastical in the best tradition of classic British children’s literature, but happily queerer. I have loved this whole series and this feels like a fitting conclusion, even as I hope Lapinski finds a way to give us more in this world.
