The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: December 6, 2012

An action-packed tale of gowns, guys, guns –and the heroines who use them all 

Set in turn of the century London, The Friday Society follows the stories of three very intelligent and talented young women, all of whom are assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant; and Nellie, magician's assistant. The three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder–and the crimes they believe may be connected to it–without calling too much attention to themselves.

Set in the past but with a modern irreverent flare, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike–well, relatively ladylike–heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

If I'm honest with you, I'll tell you that I love books with girl power. There is not one girl in this world who "needs" a guy to save her, and I love it when that crosses over into YA lit. It sends a great message, because there are so many girls out there that think they "need" a guy to be something. And this is one of the best examples of a girl power kind of book - it's a totally badass steampunk version of Charlie's Angels, but without a "Charlie".

Before I go on, let me just tell you that I love Charlie's Angels. It's just such a fun movie, and, like I said - GIRL POWER! So I was bound to at least like this one. And I did, but not as much as I had originally hoped. I think the thing that killed it for me was the ending - you know how I have problems with those.

I'm not going to reveal spoilers, but let's just say that I wasn't too surprised in the end.... to say the least. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming, but the ending... it just takes the cake for predictable, unfortunately. But here I go, starting the review at the end again! Let's talk about something more interesting, like say... I don't know, maybe the characters?

Like I said before, there is a seriously awesome amount of girl power in this book. Like, a lot! And I love love loved that! I enjoyed all of our main characters, and it was fun to read from each of their different points of view. I never got confused about who was speaking (and there were no name titles), but I think, hands down, that Cora was my favorite.

She was super smart - like, inventor smart (funny, that... she is an inventor) and she's so awesome! I loved her spunk, and the way that she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. Or to help someone who was in need. She was funny, and she liked to kind of blend into the background - which was a nice change.

That doesn't mean that I didn't like Michiko and Nellie, though! I just liked them for different reasons. I liked Michiko's drive and discipline, and Nellie's flair for girliness. Cora was definitely my favorite, though!

In other news, I think this book has the most realistic "relationship" ever described - it was hilarious when it happened, but... in the end, I think it's nice to see a relationship that doesn't work out in the end. Also a good message.

All in all, I'd say that The Friday Society was a fun steampunk adventure, with plenty of action and interesting characters - but I feel like the ending could have been better.