This Side Up

In This Side Up, the second volume of the “Cardboardia” series, friends Mac, Maisie, and Bird continue to search for Mac’s sister Pokey while also trying to determine whether a mysterious board game containing all their images may be their way home. Maisie and Bird have developed new special powers that may help them stay safe from the Grey Queen, and all three are learning about who might be allies and who might be enemies. Flashing back to the real world momentarily, they learn that, not only have Mac and Pokey’s grandparents called the police to help find Pokey, but that someone is looking for them on this side of the box as well.

The art in this second volume is just as impressive as in The Other Side of the Box, showing readers an impressive and ever-expanding Cardboardia. Where the last volume featured pages that seemed to be someone looking into the real world from Cardboardia, This Side Up has a number of pages that illustrate the importance of the board game; transition pages feature a board game and die, and character faces appear on game cards and tokens. It’s a clever way to show a shift in time or place.

The plot moves along a bit more quickly in This Side Up than in The Other Side of the Box. There are a few chases and action scenes as well as some realizations about Bird and Maisie’s powers that will almost certainly come up in the future. Bird’s revelation near the end—that maybe they are there to save more than just Pokey—hints at many more adventures to come.

Fairgray and Campagnolo are doing a great job building suspense in this new series and will have readers wondering what’s next for Mac, Maisie, and Bird.