The character Opal only becomes more confident at the end - when she removes her glasses to reveal her stunning beauty, and decides to join the Spring Dance Committee (rather than exploring her considerable mental skills that were so far repressed). What is worse, though, Meloy relies heavily on stereotypes, especially regarding the female (and always extremely beautiful) characters and their behavior: The ending is, in parts saccharine, and feels like an afterthought. The plot is choppy, with large segments that do not drive the plot forward sufficiently and make it more jumbled. Not only does Meloy chronically underuse her character Janie, she introduces new characters almost at will, dropping them again a few pages later, without realizing their full potential. This could have been an entertaining book, but Maile Meloy's sequel to "The Apothecary" is unfortunately a much weaker offering.
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