In this continuation of the Jasper John Dooley series, Caroline Adderson’s wonderfully quirky, clever imagination is on full display as she explores the tortuous dilemmas of the eponymous middle-grader.

This time, Jasper becomes an object of fascination to Isabel, a (gasp!) girl in his grade. He’s dismayed when his mother arranges a play date for the two. “All girls do is stay inside and brush their hair,” he says. “Are you sure about that?” his mother asks. Sure enough, it turns out that Isabel isn’t particularly interested in doing her hair. She eats jam straight from the jar and has a drum set, a dog as big as a horse, and a fabulous trampoline. Despite his misgivings, Jasper loves the flip-floppy feeling of jumping on the trampoline and can’t say no to another play date. Then Isabel asks him to marry her.

Isabel’s proposal is only one of Jasper’s dilemmas, and Adderson uses it as a launch pad for her rich, comic exploration of character and primary-school social life, including (but not limited to) its gender anxieties. Jasper has to resolve the quandary of having a friend he doesn’t really like, but who offers an irresistible opportunity for fun. Through this process he also gains a new perspective on his other friendships and his parents’ relationship (noticing, for instance, the domestic chores that his mother does in addition to her unidentified professional work). Adderson has a knack for creating brief, funny, psychologically revealing scenes, each one integral to her multilayered plot. Her inventiveness keeps the story bouncing along.

This short novel is a triumph of its kind, suffused with refreshing, intelligent wackiness. Each character is precisely drawn; Jasper is eccentric, enthusiastic, and realistic, and so is Isabel, with her interests in babies and marriage, trampolines, and drum sets. This third volume confirms the series’ exceptional subtlety and high literary quality.