Common Sense Media Review
By Julie A. Carlson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Delightful steampunk fantasy about girl spies and assassins.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Tomboy Sophronia Temminnick is sent to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality to learn how to become a proper lady ... or so she and her mother are led to believe. Much to Sophronia's delight, she discovers that the school isn't what it appears to be -- it's actually an academic institution for training young women to be spies and assassins. (Finishing school is for "finishing" someone off.) At Mademoiselle's, Sophronia quickly makes both good friends and bitter rivals. But she also learns how to become the lady her mother always wanted her to be, as well as a dangerous assassin ... who always knows how to get out of a jam. Along with Sophonia's adventures at the academy, she solves a mystery, falls in love, and saves the day, time and time again.
Is It Any Good?
ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE is a delightful first book in a promising new YA series by Gail Carriger, author of the fantastic Parasol Protectorate series for adults. Here, Carriger does everything right. Just like her other steampunk novels, Etiquette & Espionage is a fabulous story filled with wit, uproarious dialogue, and a heroine who's cool, intelligent, and extremely clever.
Unique names, such as Sophronia Angelina Temminnick, Dimity Ann Plumleigh-Teignmott, Monique de Pelouse, and Phineas B. Crow (aka Soap), will leave readers tongue-twisted. And original gadgets, weapons, and air transportation, as well as powerful robots and mechanical animals, will spark readers' imagination. Bravo!
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how interracial dating has been viewed in different eras. Do you think Sophronia and Soap will be able to find love in Victorian times?
What do you think of the steampunk genre? Do you like the mix of history, science fiction, and the paranormal?
Are the characters admirable, despite their training? Should that be the case?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship , History , Fantasy , Transportation ( Trains )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : February 5, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 13 - 17
- Number of pages : 307
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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