11.27.2013
Etiquette & Espionage
by Gail Carriger, 336 pgs, hardcoverSeries: Finishing School book 1, spin-off series from The Parasol Protectorate
Overall Grade: B+
In this prequel spin-off series, Sophronia Temminnick, a curious and active young lady, is recruited to a mysterious finishing school. But Mademoiselle Geraldine's is not your typical finishing school for genteel ladies. Catering to the female progeny of intelligencers, evil geniuses and other questionable types, this airborne academy finishes teaching ladies how to behave and also how to "finish" their adversaries and collect intelligence. From the beginning Sophronia is at odds with a senior student, Miss Pelouse, who failed her graduation assignment and was dropped back to Sophronia's class. Only as Sophronia gradually makes friends and learns to apply her lessons does she start to uncover what secret Miss Pelouse is keeping and concocts a plan to thwart her.
Coming from Ms. Carriger, and set in the same universe at 'The Parasol Protectorate', I had high expectations for this book. While interesting and fast-paced, it took me a while to get invested in the students. Written from Sophronia's perspective, the reader definitely has the feeling of not knowing everything that's going on, sometimes frustratingly so, and I hope some topics will be developed more as the series progresses. A couple of characters from the Parasol Protectorate reappear as younger versions of themselves in this series, leaving me thoroughly confused about the timeline because their age disparity is much greater in the former series. I've never known Carriger to be sloppy with such details in her previous books, so I can only hope that this mystery will also be elucidated as this series progresses. Not one of the best books I've read this year, but certainly a series that I will keep in my to-read queue... now if I could just get a reserve on the second book from my library...
Labels: genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: historical, genre: mystery, genre: steampunk, genre: YA, media: book, series: Finishing School, series: Parasol Protectorate
