ETA: Is Johnny Hiro originally from the West Coast? He uses the term freeway once which really stuck out to me (it's not widely used on the East Coast if it's used at all).
I can't tell if this book is less weird than the first one or if I just got used to the weirdness. Mayor Bloomberg's presence in the first book has a nice pay off in this one.
This book felt less streamlined than the first Johnny Hiro book did though. I wasn't into the end (it took me a long time to finish this book because there were a few places in the story I just got stuck). It reminded me of TV shows that don't know if they're cancelled or not at the end of their seasons. Like it's trying to wrap everything up but stay open ended in case there's the opportunity for more.
Overall, it's not a bad series. Reading the two books together is definitely better than reading one on its own. That's something.