RAINING CATS AND DOGS

Caitlin’s second cruise is off to a stormy start.

Caitlin Cruz is still adjusting to her parents’ recent divorce, which threatens to turn the annual family trip to Disney World into two separate visits. Although her anxieties continue to nag at her, Caitlin sets herself a positive goal—to become a people person. She has the perfect opportunity to make that objective a reality: Before the Disney trip, she and her older brother, Dylan, will be spending another week on the Wandering Princess, where their father has a summer job as ship’s doctor. The Fancy Feline Society of North Carolina and their 264 cats will be aboard, but chaos looms as everyone suddenly realizes that the Greater Florida Kennel Club—with their 236 dogs—has also booked the cruise. Readers of the first series installment will welcome the return of familiar characters such as Max and Olivia (grandchildren of the ship’s chef) and glamorous former actor Gigi and her toy poodle, Pearl. The pet-propelled plot is lively, if a bit implausible, though Eschmann’s emphasis on her protagonist’s feelings keeps it grounded. Caitlin and the other kids’ resentment at the cruise staff’s refusal to listen to their ideas will resonate, while excerpts from Caitlin’s What If journal, where she chronicles her worries and wild speculations, make for delightful interludes. Characters’ ethnicities aren’t mentioned; the previous installment cued Caitlin and Dylan as Latine.

It’s smooth sailing for this earnest and upbeat series.