The second book in the Lunch Bunch series follows schoolgirl super-scientist Bernadette Inez O’Brian Schwartz into complicated territory. Instead of trying to solve a tricky experiment, she has to navigate the more complex terrain of friendship.

Bernadette’s old best friend, Jasmine, has moved away, but she is returning for a visit during the winter holidays. Bernadette naturally wants her stay to be special. Jasmine camps out in Bernadette’s room for three days, they take a trip to the Science Centre, and they make ice cream the old-fashioned way with snow from the backyard.

The trouble is that Bernadette’s new crew, the Lunch Bunch, aren’t invited along. In fact, Bernadette won’t even return their calls while Jasmine is visiting. Once Jasmine returns home and school starts up again in January, Bernadette finds herself being left out. It takes an extra-special Lunch Bunch strategy to show Keisha, Megan, and Annie how important they are to her.

Glickman develops Bernadette’s gang of girls a little further in this book, while maintaining the spirit of the original Lunch Bunch story. The focus is on Bernadette and Keisha’s relationship, but the other girls are given their moments in the spotlight as well: Annie proves to be a talented gymnast, and Megan shows an aptitude for helping others get along. As the girls work through the mire of school-age jealousies, they befriend an elderly neighbour and volunteer to help out with her garden.

The text is broken up by Mélanie Allard’s engaging black-and-white illustrations – the inclusion of which is a solid technique to help younger readers bridge the gap between picture books and junior novels – and there’s enough in the way of science and recipes to keep fans of the first book interested in the series.