Oh, wait! There is so much that is problematic here:

1. I may have overestimated Rivera’s plotting (or I was full of myself). Why did she go with the blatantly obvious culprit, Violet, rather than a more interesting, less obvious person, such as Ernest, Squirrelly Sandy, or somebody completely different? For example, it could have been a more aggressive environmentalist who thinks Mark and Cherry aren’t doing enough to protect Lost Forest.
2. Now, what’s with those creepy pet squirrels? Do they read human emotions? Are they even real squirrels? Is Rivera attempting to suggest they are like the empathic tree-cats found in David Weber’s Honor Harrington sci-fi series? (fun reading, by the way!)
3. How is it that Violet just happens to have a purple pen that just happens to fall to the ground? I’m surprised her dress even has a pocket.
4. Why is Cherry more concerned about the purple pen than the fact that Violet is being attacked by squirrels?
5. Will Violet try to get Squirrelly Sandy arrested for assault? (Does Lost Forest even have a police department?)
6. Why did Violet try to blame Cherry in the first place and then suggest this search? She could have just forged Cherry’s name to the notes, rather than make up the nom-de-plume Kudzu Commander. (That’s a cool moniker, by the way.)
7. Rivera leaves us with two days to explain everything before Mark takes over the story time. Then it’s another two to three weeks before we return to Cherry, by which time we’ll have forgotten the plot.
8. Will Violet’s explanation be something completely unexpected?

If you feel inspired, click on the Leave a Comment link and suggest some answers. Or propose pertinent questions I overlooked.