1/24/13

The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress

Sometimes even picky readers of historical fiction (ie, me) are allowed to just enjoy the ride, especially when the ride in question is to a steampunk 19th-century London that never was.  The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress (Dial, YA, Dec. 2012), is a playful mystery/thriller in which three teenage girls--an inventor's assistant, a magician's assistant, and a would-be samurai warrior from Japan find their paths (littered with dead bodies) crossing....and they end up working together, in a sisterhood of mad talent, to foil your basic megalomaniac evil genius plot to destroy London.

(Yay!  A one sentence summary!)

So sure, it isn't historical fiction at its most un-anachronistic, but a lot of the fun comes from the author's relaxed and playful use of modern turns of phrase.  As in the first two sentences, which made me feel all happy to read the book:

"And then there was an explosion.
It was loud.  It was bright.  It was very explosion-y."

I liked all three girls--Cora, the serious inventor, Nellie, the beautiful girl who's an ace escape artist, and Michiko, formidable swordswoman confronted by barriers of language and culture.  They were each strongly individual, with nicely doled out back-story and motivations and opinions.  The point of view shifts between the three girls, which was good, in large part because it gave the reader a chance to get to know Michiko, and hear her thoughts.  I liked how Cora and Nellie, even though they couldn't exactly have complicated conversations with Michiko, never treated her as an exotic other--she was a person and an equal.  The one real reservation I had, regarding Cora being swept off her feet by feelings of physical attraction to a jerk, proved to be a reservation that the author shared, and not something she thought was ok, which was a relief.  

I liked the story--it was enough of a steampunk thriller to be interesting, without the thriller-ness using up too many pages with violent chases etc, which I often find tedious.  (nb--people who actually like tightly plotted thrillers that exercise their brains might find it untightly plotted, and might put in some critical thinking type comments here, but I am not that reader).

In short, I liked reading the book! It was just the sort of escapist fun that makes for excellent bus ride reading.  This came as a very pleasant surprise, because I did not much care for the author's two middle grade fantasy books.  I think her writing has improved lots--I felt here that she was in control of her story, which was not quite the feeling I had gotten in the past.

15 comments:

  1. When I saw this one, I fell for the cover: it just screams fun and sassy. Good to know the book is just as good.

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  2. Great minds-- I'm reading this right now. I like your take on the language as "playful use of modern turns of phrase" because the same phrases were hitting me like a slap in the face and I had to put the book down for the evening. I'm liking everything else, so maybe that will help me with the language!

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    1. I decided almost immediatly not to consider this historical fiction, so that I wouldn't be bothered! I hope it works for you.

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  3. I absolutely loved this one and didn't expect to. The language reminded me of the stylization used in Buffy and Angel, which I thought was pretty fun. And I loved that the relationship that seemed ooky turned out to be ooky and that the love interest wasn't everything and the girls were single but happy.

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    1. Yes! So nice not to have Romance be the Answer!

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    2. Yup. Loved it that what they learned was that they made a great team & wanted to go on being a team.

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  4. The cover is charming but I have not been thrilled with the steampunk I have read (all adult, not juvenile as yet). I will add this to my list, however, if you and Karen both like it.

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    1. This is one you might like--it almost has an old fashioned English girls story feel to it, in a brave and amazingly competent girls foil Nazi spies way....

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  5. Ooh, yay! I have this book out from the library right now, but haven't gotten to it yet. I'm so glad that you liked it!

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  6. I'm glad you liked this one! I have seen mixed reviews, but I do try to stay current with steampunk, and this has been on my wishlist. I'll have to put it on hold at the library.

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  7. I hope you both like it, Karen and Cecelia!

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  8. I just saw this one reviewed on another blog a couple of days ago, and added it to my list. I have a big soft spot for Girl Fridays, and this sounds like a fun ride!

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  9. This book just sounds like so much FUN. Not over the top amazing, but as you said, escapism at its finest. I'm really going to have to pick it up next time I need just that sort of book.

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  10. Ooh! This sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for reviewing it!

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