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  • The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry
  • Amy Atkinson
Berry, Julie The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place. Roaring Brook, 2014 [368p] ISBN 978-1-59643-956-6 $15.99 Reviewed from galleys     R Gr. 5-7

The seven students of Saint Etheldreda’s School for Young Ladies may not like their headmistress, the unpleasant Mrs. Plackett, but they don’t want her dead. Unfortunately, she and her even less likable brother ate some poisoned meat and suffered the fatal consequences; now faced with two dead bodies and the promise [End Page 87] of freedom, the girls, led by Smooth Kitty, attempt to cover up the situation. Soon all the girls play a role in the ruse, concealing the corpses in the garden and trying to keep their story straight as Pocked Louise plays sleuth, Stout Alice imitates the deceased headmistress to unsuspecting neighbors, and Disgraceful Mary Jane distracts the handsome new constable. Their cover beings to crumble, though, upon the unexpected arrival of Mrs. Plackett’s sister-in-law and nephew, causing ever more scrambling—and laughter—in this part caper, part whodunit Victorian school story. The cast of heroines, while perhaps a bit unwieldy, proves humorous and inspiring, giving readers many personality types and temperaments to latch onto or laugh at. Barry keeps the pace quick and the attention to detail and to character thorough, merging elements of domestic fictions with comedies of error. With a collection of interesting independence-seeking girls, a bit of mystery, and a smattering of romance, this will suit Anglophiles and boarding-school enthusiasts as well as those seeking a bit of sisterly literary companionship.

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