Just Jake: Dog Eat Dog

Gr 4–6—In this stand-alone sequel to Just Jake (Grosset & Dunlap, 2014), Jake has settled into Kinney Elemantary School but is thrown a curve when he gets a new teacher, Ms. Cane, who is extreme in appearance and teaching style. Instead of doing traditional schoolwork for the rest of the year, the class will take on a project: operating Ms. Cane's mobile pet-grooming business. Jake touts his "awesomeness," but like Wimpy Kid's Greg Heffley, he's no role model. Jake's understanding that Ms. Cane isn't using the kids to be mean (she's afraid of not having enough money to retire) evaporates the instant he is reassigned to a menial task other kids had been doing. His envy of buddy Michael's lacrosse and business skills undermines their friendship until Michael offers to help with the menial work. Author Marcionette, now in eighth grade, shows promise in moments of genuine wit (such as writing an amusing parental permission slip) despite heavy use of exclamation points to fabricate drama. Pop culture references including Vine, selfies, Yelp, and slang terms like adorbs may limit the title's circulation life. Villa's full-color cartoons, cutouts and captions support the tween humor; sharp-eyed readers will appreciate his flip animation drawings throughout.