Pages: 437
Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Mystery, steampunk
Notes for parents: Some mild language, drinking, inferred drug use, and mature scenes
The Inside Cover
The Friday Society follows the stories of three intelligent and talented young women who work as assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, combat instruction assistant; and Nellie, magician’s assistant. Their lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man. It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it—without calling too much attention to themselves. Of course, blending in has never been these ladies’ strong suit, especially with so many eligible men around.
What the Inside Cover doesn’t tell you:
I believe this is the first in an intended series.
What’s good?
The characters were fantastic. Well drawn and interesting, the three main characters and their supporting cast made this a unique and promising adventure. The writing was good, the dialogue was witty—albeit not often fitting for the time period—and there’s a complicated plot that involves a serial killer, grave robbing, a break-in, a mysterious dead man at the door, explosions, evil scientists, Japanese swords, a head, roof hopping, and much, much more.
Best part: Hayao.
What’s not so good?
The plot was slow and predictable, dotted with many hackneyed moments that were probably meant to be funny but felt more awkward than anything else. Speaking of awkward, the bi-polar plot couldn’t decide if it was historical, mystery, romance, steampunk, or comedy. Actually, there wasn’t a whole lot of history or steampunk, the little hints of romance were fairly dull, and there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of urgency in solving the mystery, so it was more like a comedy with a few gadgets, a little kissing, some corsets, and lot of corpses.
Worst part: When Alice’s mom offers them a “cuppa” after they drop off her daughter’s dead body.
Recommendations þþþoo
Two checkmarks didn't seem like enough, but three seems too many. Consider this a two and half. The steampunk cover is what drew me to this story, as did the promise of three strong female characters. While the characters were excellent and some parts were highly entertaining, I was disappointed by how long it took for the story to unfold. It was cute, but not great.
Kress, Adrienne. The Friday Society. New York: Dial Books, 2012. (Hardcover)
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