The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
The Porch sisters, Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee, don't fit in anywhere in their town of Antiquarium. They don't fit in with their "aunt" and "uncle." They don't fit in at their etiquette school (or any of the etiquette schools they'd been in before that). And the town in general just seems a poor fit. The one place they do fit is together. After they are kicked out of what seems to be the last etiquette school in town, the three porch sisters receive a mysterious invitation to an etiquette school no one has ever heard of. Desperate to avoid the threat of being sent off to a terrifying school in Austria, Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee report to the school to find it's run by none other than the legendary--and surely evil--mad scientist Millicent Quibb!
But Millicent Quibb isn't what they expected--surely she can't be what anyone has suspected. Millicent Quibb is a mad scientist, that much is true, but she's a benevolent one and is trying to save Antiquarium! Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee are enlisted to help and together with Millicent they set off to stop the evil society of KRA.
Kate McKinnon has a refreshing and quirky voice as an author. Fans of hers won't help but see touches of previous characters she's famously portrayed in Millicent Quibb. There is an essence to this book that may remind readers of Lemony Snicket. However, McKinnon's voice is much more lighthearted and whimsical. Yet there is something similar in the style and the promise of a wonderful series that ties these two in this reviewer's mind.
The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science is a wonderfully engaging read with brilliant illustrations that perfectly capture the feel and tone of the book. While clearly targeted at a younger audience, older readers in search of delight are sure to find it in this fantastic book.
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