Teen review of "Etiquette & Espionage" by Gail Carriger

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
RANDALL OAKS TEEN CARRIGER

I really love steampunk, so I’m always looking out for good steampunk YA.When I first saw Etiquette & Espionage, I knew I had to get it. I’ve been wanting to read Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, and this being a prequel of sorts, I just couldn’t resist. And if the Parasol Protectorate books are anything like Etiquette & Espionage, I’m going to have to read those really soon.

All the steampunk I’ve read so far has been either quite dark or some elements of steampunk are there, but not much. Compared to those other titles, Etiquette & Espionage blows them out of the water. Everything was so whimsical and fantastic! The names were absolutely ridiculous and I just loved reading them (favorite: Lord Dingleproops). The language was just impeccable and unlike anything I’ve ever read. The setting had everything a steampunk novel needs, from giant floating dirigibles, to automatons, to mechanimals. That’s right, our main character befriends a tiny steampunk patchwork dachshund, which she names Bumbersnoot. He was by far my favorite character.

And speaking of characters, I absolutely adored Sophronia. She’s highly intelligent and funny with knack for getting in and out of trouble. Her entrance at the very beginning of the novel is by far one of my favorite beginnings of a book ever. I mean, she comes tumbling out of a dumb-waiter, accidentally launching pudding into the air. It’s just–it’s just great. I also loved the idea for the finishing school. It was just so amusing to me! Girls are learning to become proper ladies, working on curtsies and dancing and other forms of etiquette, while also learning how to become intelligencers. I just found this to be hilarious for some reason.

In order to finish, you have to complete a mission. Of course, one of the older girls, Monique, doesn’t exactly finish, and that’s where Sophronia and her friend Dimity come in. I loved the mystery of it and the lengths that Sophronia went to find this mysterious device that Monique hid, causing her mission to fail. The relationship between those two was infuriating as it was amusing.

All in all, Etiquette & Espionage was one of the most delightful books I have ever read. I was laughing and smiling so much that after a while, my face kind of began to hurt. If you love steampunk and incredible amounts of whimsy, then definitely pick up a copy. You won’t regret it.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.

More new reads in a variety of genres

From historical fiction to steampunk, here are more of the latest arrivals to the collection!

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen Sixteen-year-old Sara's mother goes missing before she and Sara can move to a new town to escape Sara's physically abusive father.
	A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan After identifying a terrorist plot, a brilliant seventeen-year-old girl from Santa Monica, California, gets involved with the young FBI agent who is trying to ensure her safety.
Wanted by Heidi Ayarbe Seventeen-year-old Michal Garcia, a bookie at Carson City High School, raises the stakes in her illegal activities after she meets wealthy, risk-taking Josh Ellison.
	Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt With help from her best friend Ava and Ava's boyfriend Noah, Hannah is recovering from being dumped by her boyfriend Sebastian, but on the first day of their senior year in high school, Ava learns that Hannah and Noah betrayed her while she was away.
Fall from Grace by Charles Benoit Inspired by an intriguing girl who is nothing like his shallow girlfriend, a high school senior whose life has been mapped out by his parents makes some surprising decisions that lead him to take dangerous--but exhilarating--risks.
	Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.
Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories One year after the tsunami, this benefit fiction anthology helps teens learn about Japan and contribute to long-term relief efforts.
	Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross #2 in the Steampunk Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade ; the dangerous device Jasper stole from him for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens with supernatural abilities is on Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.
The Doomsday Vault by Steven Harper In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale.