Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School Book #2) by Gail Carriger –ESSENTIAL

Carriger, Gail Curtsies and Conspiracies 320 pgs. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, (Nov) 2013. $11.23.  

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG-13(Description of Male Parts); Violence: PG.

Sophronia is still excelling at finishing school, where she is training to become a spy. Her ability to pay attention to the intrigues around her is keeping her ahead of the game but involving her in some dangerous plots. She spends a ton of time sneaking around the school –which is a dirigible, spending time with the ingenious Vieve and the trustworthy Soap. When a plot involving the latest in travel technology involves a kidnapping attempt of her best friend Dimity –Sophronia must put her training to work.

This series is a must have if you are developing a Steampunk collection. This author has truly created her own own world –especially the language, which is fantastic. You have proper Victorian girls at a proper finishing school, covertly training to be spies, all while making use of futuristic technology and run-ins with the supernatural. This second book allows the reader to get to know all the main characters even better and is impossible to put down.

HS –ESSENTIAL 

Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.