I don’t quite remember the circumstances that brought me to this one, even though it was not that long ago. Which is strange for me. Usually I have a backstory, but this time I just had the book on my Kobo and I decided, at long last, to read it. And I definitely made a good choice there.
Miss Mabel’s School for Girls follows a first year girl, Bianca, as she is warned repeatedly about the headmistress who she is determined to get an apprenticeship with. Bianca and her family are under a curse put on them by the headmistress’ family and, if it’s not removed, Bianca is going to die at 17. She’s already 16, giving her not much time to find a way to negotiate the curse off of her by the chaotic evil Miss Mabel, who has much more in store for her than Bianca realizes.
Bianca is precisely the kind of protagonist that I like to see in these kinds of stories. She’s prepared. So prepared. And even though she is ready, even though she has been training for this for most of her life, she still finds herself in over her head. It’s refreshing to see a character that really did do everything she could do to get ready for what was coming. She’s a determined, compassionate character that finds herself challenged by things that couldn’t have been predicted, that catch most of the other characters even off guard.
Miss Mabel is a fun antagonist, too, even if she does feel a little cartoonishly evil at times. She never tips all the way into silly and always feels like a very real threat, though, and none of her antics are funny so much as excessively cruel while she smiles about it. She’s the Joker, but written by a skilled writer.
I will give a quick shout out to the world-building, as everything feels very well thought out and, even though not all the rules are spelled out, they feel very consistent throughout. The world adds to the story and enhances it rather than distracting, which is a delicate balance I’ve found with some of these.
There is one bit I’ll warn everyone about. There’s a bit with a cat. For those who want to skip that chapter—It is only one chapter—I’ll spoil what happens.
Bianca hides the real cat and makes a duplicate fake one to perform the hexes on. She does not get caught and passes. It is still very difficult to read because the fake cat does mimic how the real one would have responded.
Overall, I’d say check it out. It’s an interesting story and I found the characters to be interesting and the story compelling. The way information about Bianca is revealed makes you feel like she’s a different person and her own character rather than one you are supposed to insert yourself into and you find yourself really hoping that she succeeds.