The Glimmer Girls are back in the series' third installment, this time at the Grand Ole Opry. Twins Mattie and Mia (and younger sister Lulu) are nervously excited about their musical debut at a benefit for a homeless shelter. Time spent at the shelter stirs compassion and a desire to help in the girls, even as they search for a valuable, stolen guitar. This short novel, less focused on mystery than its predecessors, instead zeroes in on friendship, compassion, and humility. Grant's writing is getting stronger, and her character development fuller, lending the series added promise.

Gr 4-6 When twins Mia and Mattie Glimmer return to school after a summer touring with their musical family, things seem to have changed between the twins and their good friends Annabeth and Emily. The sisters approach the change in the friendship very differently; Mattie is clearly hurt and more conciliatory than Mia. Ultimately, the four friends reconcile while the entire Glimmer family comes to the aid of a less fortunate family, and the girls gain a new friend and deeper understanding of forgiveness. The Glimmer family shares prayer and a conviction in the power of faith and in Jesus Christ. Simona Chitescu-Weik's narration is appropriately earnest for the text. Her voices for the impeccably mannered girls (most notably the youngest Glimmer sister, Lulu) are high-pitched, almost shrill. VERDICT Though in general a didactic offering, the story includes an interesting history of the Grand Ole Opry. Maria Salvadore, Washington, DC