Though initially thrilled to enroll in Air Academy, the premier school for aspiring balloon pilots, Clara soon finds that nothing is as she expected.After winning a prestigious air race in Clara Poole and the Long Way Round (2023), Clara expected to be acknowledged, if not celebrated, by the ballooning community. Instead, she's dismissed as a fraud and an "aero-not." If Clara thought her acceptance to Air Academy would do anything to dispel the criticism, those hopes are shattered upon arrival. As it turns out, she's only an alternate; her place in the class is conditional upon another student's withdrawal. Even worse, in a departure from tradition, the students in the incoming class are split into two groups and made to compete for their places in the school. It quickly becomes clear that Clara and her teammates have been set up to fail, and their losing streak frays even the steadiest friendships. After students are nearly killed in suspicious accidents, Clara receives cryptic warnings from an anonymous source that make her determined to uncover the truth before the disasters turn fatal. Clever and brave Clara is as winsome as ever, especially as she tackles ballooning's patriarchal underpinnings. This exciting second installment expands on the worldbuilding of the first while setting the stage for adventures to come. Clara reads white; there's ethnic diversity among the other characters.Captivating, with a cliffhanger that will leave readers ready for more. (Adventure. 8-12)