Revenge of the Flower Girls by Jennifer Ziegler (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Revenge of the Flower Girls by Jennifer Ziegler Kate Quealy-Gainer Ziegler, Jennifer. Revenge of the Flower Girls. Scholastic, 2014. [240p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-545-56141-9 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-545-56143-3 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-6. When their grown sister arrives home with the news of her engagement, eleven-yearold triplets Darby, Delaney, and Dawn are anything but thrilled at the upcoming wedding. The three tomboys would be willing to put up with all the fancy dresses and bows as flower girls if Lily were marrying the right guy, but sneezy, uptight Burton Caldwell is a “nincompoop,” especially in comparison to Lily’s ex, the dreamy Alex. The triplets aren’t entirely sure why Lily and Alex broke up last summer, but they’re certain that Burton isn’t going to make Lily happy, so they attempt to upset the wedding plans while trying to bring Alex and Lily back together. Although it bills itself as the a middle-school Bridesmaids, this breezy family comedy has more [End Page 549] in common with the zany hijinks of old-school rom-coms like The Parent Trap. The triplets take turns narrating, and while their voices are pretty much indistinguishable, their affection for their sister is clear—as is their conviction that their efforts to rescue her from her own bad choices are entirely justified. A parade of charming secondary small-town characters, including the triplets’ divorced parents, rounds out the cast, and a beastly busybody of a future mother-in-law makes an imposing villain for the triplets to square off against. There’s not much depth here, but there’s plenty of warmth and humor with a happy ending that sees the right people paired up and the triplets enjoying a well deserved feast of leftover hors d’oeuvre—or “horse doves,” as Darby likes to refer to them. [End Page 550] Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois