The Second Favorite Daughters Club Books in Order

If you have ever thought your sibling got the better seat, the better attention, and somehow the better version of your parents too, this series knows exactly where that feeling lives. The Second Favorite Daughters Club moves away from fantasy and into middle school realism, but it keeps Colleen Oakes's interest in girls who feel boxed in and want to push back.

The story begins with Santana Barnes and Casey Hammond, two girls who meet in their school library and quickly realize they share the same private frustration. Santana is tired of living in the shadow of her older sister Victoria, a ballet star whose schedule seems to control the whole family. Casey has just moved with her father and little sister Sage, and she feels like the serious, careful kid who gets overlooked while everyone else has fun. They are both lonely in ways that are easy for adults to miss.

The book stays close to the everyday spaces of school, rehearsals, kitchens, and bedrooms, which makes the rivalry feel familiar fast. Victoria is talented and demanding. Sage is younger, freer, and hard not to adore. Because the sisters are drawn as real people, Santana and Casey have to face an uncomfortable fact: being annoyed with someone does not make them the villain.

Their friendship is the real engine of the book.

Once they name the problem, they do what middle schoolers with strong feelings and limited patience often do: they make a club and come up with a terrible plan. In Sister Sabotage, the goal is simple on paper and disastrous in practice. If their sisters are the reason they always come second, maybe the answer is to knock those sisters down a peg. That setup gives the book its comedy. The girls are clever, wounded, dramatic, and not nearly as sneaky as they think they are.

What keeps the story from turning mean is the way Oakes lets the emotions underneath the jokes stay visible. Santana and Casey are not cartoon troublemakers. They are girls trying to be seen. Their sabotage comes from jealousy, yes, but also from sadness, confusion, and the fear that love inside a family might be something you have to compete for. The adults and siblings around them are flawed, but they are not monsters either, which helps the book feel grounded.

The tone lands in a sweet spot between funny and honest. There are schemes, disasters, and embarrassing moments, but there is also a real interest in how friendship can help kids say the quiet part out loud. So far, Sister Sabotage sets the pattern well: brisk chapters, emotional clarity, and a lot of sympathy for kids whose feelings are a little too big for the room. If you like middle grade stories about friendship, family friction, and plans that go off the rails in spectacular ways, this is an easy series to pick up.