The Edge of the Ocean (Strangeworlds Travel Agency #2) by L.D. Lapinski tells a high-action tale with emotional resonance.

Flick is a girl (age 12?) who lives in Little Wyvern, England. When her parents aren’t looking, she travels to other worlds through a magical travel agency run by Jonathan, a teenage boy waiting for his dad to return.

Shelves and shelves line the travel agency office, each filled with a suitcase that is really a portal to another world. Right now, Jonathan is worried about a particular world, full of life and personalities, that will mysteriously run out of energy for existence in just a few weeks. Can Flick, who has some unique magical powers, help save these individuals? And, how come she has these magical powers, anyway? That’s not clear to her.

Maybe it’s because this is the second book of a series, and I didn’t read the first book. But the first part of the book seemed high on action, low on emotion. That changed, though, I am glad to report. Also, this book initially led me to think it was another one of these rah-rah-girl-power books where all the strong characters are female, but that turned out to be false as well. In fact, there was a portrayal of a loving father that really kind of grabbed me.

Like so many middle grade books coming out now, this one contains a nod to the LGBTQ agenda, near the end of the book. Conservative parents may want to know this.

For me, this book is better than many of the tales about girls flooding the market these days. I’ll give it four stars. ****