Fiorella de Maria has given an early Easter gift with a second installment (of hopefully many) in her /Skaters/ series. Picking up where /My Family and Other Skaters/ left off, /The Second Skater of the Apocalypse/ continues the story of Rosalia, second child in a family of six, who lives in a rambling house in England with her parents, several pets, some chickens who are staying off the dinner table as long as they lay eggs, and a friend of the family named Uncle Harry, who was introduced at the end of the first book. The family is deeply engaged in figure skating, but there are plenty of other antics and crises of the type found in large families. de Maria again does her exceptional job of narrating "the adventure of everyday life", and through the eyes of almost-twelve Rosalia as the reader accompanies the family and community through the trials wrought by the COVID crisis. Though the unifying theme seems to be figure skating, the real glue that holds the stories together is love. These books invite the reader inside a peculiar and special family, where they can take part in the love that moves the household and those who touch it. Though written for young people, these stories will enchant readers of any age who appreciate the intense and slightly chaotic love found in large families.

Fiorella de Maria has given an early Easter gift with a second installment (of hopefully many) in her /Skaters/ series. Picking up where /My Family and Other Skaters/ left off, /The Second Skater of the Apocalypse/ continues the story of Rosalia, second child in a family of six, who lives in a rambling house in England with her parents, several pets, some chickens who are staying off the dinner table as long as they lay eggs, and a friend of the family named Uncle Harry, who was introduced at the end of the first book. The family is deeply engaged in figure skating, but there are plenty of other antics and crises of the type found in large families. de Maria again does her exceptional job of narrating "the adventure of everyday life", and through the eyes of almost-twelve Rosalia as the reader accompanies the family and community through the trials wrought by the COVID crisis. Though the unifying theme seems to be figure skating, the real glue that holds the stories together is love. These books invite the reader inside a peculiar and special family, where they can take part in the love that moves the household and those who touch it. Though written for young people, these stories will enchant readers of any age who appreciate the intense and slightly chaotic love found in large families.