Wednesday 21 October 2009

The Dresskeeper by Mary Naylus

REVIEW COPY: Prospera Publishing.
Released: 30 November
Back cover: Have you ever pretended to be someone else?Picky Robson thought things couldn't get any worse. Her life is a boy-free aone, she's being bullied at school, then mum announces she has to look after gran every weekend for the foreseeable future. One night, unknowingly tempting fate, Picky slips into a flouncy old dress from the depths of an ancient chess and finds herself back in 17th Century London. But she is not alone. A weirdo in a wig is trying to kill her - mistaking her for a girl called Amelia. Who is Amelia? Can Picky change the past by exposing the murderer? And will she make it back alive?

This was a pleasure to read. Penelope – aka Picky – was such a great character to spend time with. She had such a humorous voice throughout that I found myself laughing out loud. The time travel aspect of the story was handled really well and added to the story. Mary Naylus did a great job of balancing the past and the present throughout the book – I was equally interested in both. The present dealt with the issues of bullying, self image and an absentee father – all of which were handled with care by the author – while still managing to keep the book lighthearted. The mystery of the past was really intriguing and I didn’t work it out. I loved seeing 17th century London through Picky’s eyes (and her humorous observations) – it really brought it to life and was the perfect way to bring a modern voice to historical fiction.

Overall this was great fun! My only quibble would be that it ended too quickly – I would have like to known more about what happened both in the past and the present – but that's just testament to how much I enjoyed it. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for her next novel The Plaguemaker in 2010.


You can read the first 3 chapters here

5 comments:

Luisa at Chicklish said...

I'm reading lots of good reviews of this! I loved reading yours too, and the book sounds great! Thank you.

Liz said...

I am looking fwd to reading this - I have it at home and read the opening pages which had me laughing out loud! Excellent review, will definitely get stuck into it SOON!

So Many Books, So Little Time said...

I really enjoyed this, too. Great review, Sammee!

Unknown said...

Looks like we are all agreed. This is a super book and a really fun read. Yay! Glad you enjoyed it.

Tales of Whimsy said...

I am reading this one right now and just love it!

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