Late for school one day, Flora makes the mistake of trying to use Crackpot Hall's balky elevator, which doesn't take her where she asks but instead deposits her in the library, where she meets Valefor, the abrogated denizen of her house. Valefor begs her to restore him, and indeed she is able to breathe some life into him, which has such good effects as allowing him to do some of her cleaning duties. But much more is required to restore him completely.

So Flora -- soon with Udo's help -- starts to try to track down the necessities for restoring Valefor. She has another quest as well -- to rescue the recently captured Dainty Pirate, who turns out to be Nino Mo's former associate, Boy Hansgen. And before long she realizes that her quest to restore Valefor has another dimension -- Valefor has become connected to her is such a way that if he is not restored, she will fade as well.

The action is swift to unfold and quite varied, involving travels all around the city of Califa, and a visit to the spooky nearly abandoned Bilskinir, home of the Hağraağa family, as well as a confrontation with the Warlord, and another confrontation with the traitorous magickal adept Lord Axacaya, who was rescued from sacrifice in Huitzil by Califans, only to later betray his adopted country to its enemy. The novel is linguistically fun -- though not quite so extravagant, I think, as her short stories -- and full of amusing adventures and magickal inventiveness. And surprises and twists. I enjoyed it a great deal.

Indeed I enjoyed it so much that I immediately wanted more Flora. And luckily for me, the second of her adventures is now out. It's called Flora's Dare, and it picks up not long after the first book. Flora is primed to enjoy a brief vacation from school. Only, her father has been more or less cured of his madmess. This is a mixed blessing -- he's much stricter in discipline, but he's also a wonderful cook.Flora's friend Udo wants her help in catching the notorious criminal Springheel Jack in order to get a bounty that has been offered. Which is to say nothing of the huge tentacle that rises out of a potty and tries to grab her.

Not surprisingly, Udo's scheme to grab Springheel Jack goes bad. Worse, Udo is besotted with another girl -- and Flora's reaction to this seems to surprise even her. Plus her sister Idden has deserted the Army, and tests Flora's loyalty by insisting she keep this secret from their mother. Flora wants to learn the magical language Gramatica, and her only option might be her Mamma's enemy Axacaya. Finally, when Axacaya meets her, he reveals that the tentacle that tried to grab her was the cause of the earthquakes disturbing the city: a pregnant giant magickal squid called the Loliga. And Flora is the key, perhaps, to freeing the Loliga to have her baby without imperiling the City. But that might require quite a sacrifice.

As with the first novel, Flora's Dare is fast moving and fun. Flora learns a lot more about herself and particularly her family, and these revelations are pretty cool. The action is nonstop, and the characters enchanting. In particular she gets to meet a couple of rather surprising people we might have thought out of reach. The action here is resolved nicely enough -- though to be honest the crisis in this book is in the greater scheme of things a bit minor -- and the stage is set for more exciting adventures. Alas, I'll have to wait, presumably, another year or so for the next book!