Kristen Miller
Bloomsbury: New York, 2013
ISBN: 9781599907369
ARC via NetGalley - now available in print and digitally
The Irregulars have finally returned and they are as smart, empowered, and adventurous in their all-female crime-thwarting efforts as they’ve always been. Kiki Strike has left New York and the leadership of the Irregulars in Ananka Fishbein’s hands as she heads to Paris to claim her rightful throne as the displaced Pokrovian princess. When she and her guardian disappear somewhere over the Atlantic, Ananka is faced with the task of finding Kiki and keeping the Irregulars in check. A solution presents itself when Betty Bent, master of disguise, is offered a position in Paris as the personal assistant to a mysterious woman who runs a finishing school, and who has taken an interest in the challenge of the irascible Molly Dent (who naturally decides to stage a revolution in the school!). Meanwhile, Ananka is working on keeping her crush on Betty’s boyfriend Kasper in check, Oona is tracking down her evil twin, and the others are working on an untested cure for female baldness that has garnered some pharmaceutical attention. When Kiki makes contact via a cute French boy who just happens to be part of the secret society protecting the Parisian Catacombs known as the Darkness Dwellers, things begin to come together. With bits of romance, history, humor, charm, danger, and lots of smart, loyal, and courageous young women, The Darkness Dwellers is a welcome, long anticipated addition to Kirsten Miller’s series. It is strongly recommended for girls (and boys cool enough to pick it up) grades 6-10, and both middle school and public libraries.
I first read Kiki Strike: In the Shadow City nigh on five or so years ago. I was working at an all-girls school, and took the recommendation from the middle school librarian, she of the Parantheticals. Guys - I loved it! Kiki Strike and the Irregulars are everything we should want for our middle-school and young high-schoolers to be reading for fun! Sure, it is fun fiction with action and slightly unrealistic things like kids stopping major crime syndicates. But it’s really a lot more than that. It is slyly smart, encourages creativity and thinking outside the box, and reminds kids that while it may be a little unrealistic to expect to stop said crime syndicates, even little people can make a difference. What I think is really notable about this series, however, is the fact that it showcases many different types of intelligence - science, engineering, mapping, history, politics, art, etc. Even more remarkable? It so in the form of young girls - likeable, young girls (for the most part. Kirsten Miller needs to work on a few of them)! While for the obvious reason, girls will probably turn to this more than boys, I do wish boys of the middle school ages would pick these up. Seriously, little dudes. If you like Katniss and Alex Rider, you’ll probably also like Kiki and the other Irregulars.
