Unleashed (Jinxed #2)

McCulloch , Amy. Unleashed (Jinxed #2)
January 5th 2021 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Lacey wakes up in the hospital after being there about a month. She knows that Jinx is gone, but doesn't quite remember how that happened. Her mother and school mates are all very concerned, and her mother just wants her to be well enough to go home. When she finally does, she's glad to get back to normal, and is glad to be with her warm and supportive mother, since her scientist father left the family a long time ago. When she heads back to Profectus Academy with just her lower level baku, slick, she is barred from entering. She gets inside with her classmates only to find that she is no longer allowed at the school because she no longer has Jinx, and must go back to her old school with Zora. When her mother's baku has an update, she becomes very detached, and even cleans out some of her cookbooks and letters from Lacey's father. Lacey is very suspicious that Moncha corporation is hiding Monica Chan, and that Eric Smith is in control and does not have the best interest of the public at heart. She thinks that Carter Smith might have been behind the disappearance of Jinx, and as her memory slowly returns, she tries to fit the pieces together. Her friend/boyfriend Tobias, as well as her other Profectus friends, want to help. When they all think that Monica might be being held at Lake Baku, and they pin down the location to a place very near Tobias' family cabin in the woods, Tobias invites them to a holiday party there. Will they be able to find Monica, keep the Smith's from spreading an evil update, and maybe find some secrets about Lacey's past?
Strengths: The idea of the baku is such an excellent one-- basically, a phone/computing device that is leashed to its owner and has an emotional attachment component. This is great but also super frightening in the wrong hands, as it happens here! Having just lost my dog Sylvie, my heart broke for Lacey while she was missing Jinx. There are a lot of twists and turns that I don't want to spoil, but I enjoyed the way the story meandered and covered several topics that I didn't expect. 
Weaknesses: I missed being in the Profectus Academy, which was such a big part of the first book. 
What I really think: This could be the last book in the series, but there might be room for another. The first book has been really popular in my library, so I would be okay with a third!

When students are in the building (they are remote until 1/18 due to high Covid numbers in Ohio), we check out 250-300 books a day. I have tons of classes, and I rarely sit down. 

I work better this way. As one of my elderly friends once told me "If you stand still, someone will paint you or bury you!" I also walk to work, and realized we've been in school for five months. My shoes show it!

Since there is lunch on the schedule from 11:30 to 12:10 every day, I started a Fresh Air and Sunshine Challenge for teachers who are at school. We are close to the high school track, which is wonderfully squishy to walk on. I hope to run a mile at lunch today, which sounds like the most decadent, self-serving thing EVER. 

Whatever it takes to get you through the day. Hopefully, it's as harmless as getting outside for a bit in the middle of the school day!