These Vicious Masks

I was fortunate to get an ARC of THESE VICIOUS MASKS, by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas, in exchange for an honest review. To be honest, I have wanted to read this book since the first time I heard of it pitched as Jane Austen meets X-Men (though it probably should have been more Oscar Wilde meets X-Men, since the late Victorian era is not quite Austen's Regency era--but that's just quibbling. In any case, I adore Oscar Wilde almost as much as Jane Austen).

Evelyn and Rose Wyndham are gently bred young women--but there's nothing typical about them. Between Rose's insistence on healing the neighborhood, and Evelyn's obvious disdain for social events, their mother is about to toss her hands up in despair. When Rose disappears mysteriously, Evelyn believes she's been kidnapped, but her parents refuse to believe her. So Evelyn does what any good sister would: she follows Rose to London, societal conventions be damned. There, she has the help of a witty young gentleman named Nick, and is plagued by a mysterious and brooding Sebastian, who also seems to be searching for Rose--and worse, insisting that Rose has some absurd kind of power. As Evelyn's search leads her deeper into the underbelly of London, she discovers that things are much darker--and more dangerous--than she could have believed.

This book hit so many of my reader buttons: strong-willed and indomitable heroine, mysterious powers, high (and low) society, banter (oh, the banter is quite excellent!), wild escapes, and more. Evelyn is a remarkable heroine, and the plot twists consistently surprised me. And the ending nearly slayed me.

My only complaint is that there wasn't enough--I am devoutly hoping this book has a sequel!

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place

 Julie Berry's newest novel, The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, is nothing like her previous, All the Truth that's In Me (excepting a historical setting)--which may be a good thing. As moving as that book was, I found this one utterly delightful. It mixes so many of the things I love: a good mystery, Victorian manners, clever girl heroines, and humor.

The seven students at Prickwillow Place, Mrs. Plackett's boarding school for young ladies, are horrified one night at Sunday dinner when their mistress and her ne'er-do-well brother suddenly drop dead at the table of apparent poison. Instead of doing the expected thing--notify the police--the girls decide (at the suggestion of Smooth Kitty) to bury the bodies in the garden and keep up the pretense of their existence so that they don't have to return to their various unhappy home situations. From this point, of course, a wild romp ensues, beginning almost at once when the  neighborhood descends for the surprise birthday party Mrs. Plackett planned for her brother. As the girls try to maintain the façade that their mistress still exists, keep house, negotiate suitors (the older girls appear to be 16-17ish), and solve a mystery, the plot continues to escalate. The premise is wildly implausible, but Berry executes it with such panache that I didn't mind at all.

While some reviewers have complained about the adjectives preceding the girls' names, I found them funny (and a fairly Victorian touch). Smooth Kitty is the clear leader, but I also loved Stout Alice, who was stout of both form and heart, Pocked Louise (a clever young scientist)--even Dour Elinor, with her fascination for all things macabre, had her charm.

The dialogue was witty, the characters interesting (if not always likeable), the situations funny, the bits of romance sweet, and the writing clever. Overall, a terrific middle grade novel. I'm not honestly sure how this appeals to the target 10-14 year old demographic, but I loved it.