As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: Flavia in the New World

Twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is out of her element in this, the seventh installment, of Alan Bradley's series. The start of the novel has Flavia on a ship, mid-way across the Atlantic, bound for Canada, where she will be starting her education at Miss Bodycote's Female Academy. She barely has time to settle into her new home when a body comes tumbling down from the chimney, wrapped in the Union Jack, with an animal skull replacing its head. Her homesickness is gone at the prospect of a mystery to solve and she gets right to work. Her investigations reveals students gone mysteriously missing from Miss Bodycote's, a secret society, and a teacher with a murderous past.

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"The more I deal with adults, the less I wanted to be one." 

I enjoyed this book immensely. Flavia's personality was just what we've come to know and love - she's precocious, quick on her feet, and not afraid of anything. The development of the other characters - her classmates, her teachers, and even the headmistress - were all wonderful and it was easy to distinguish one from another. Miss Bodycote's school and the surrounding city are described in delightful detail, right down to the general store run by the woman who is entertained by Flavia's "charming" accent.

I was a bit disappointed, however, in how disjointed the book felt from the rest of the series. Without access to her attic library, Flavia finds herself without the solace of chemistry for most of the book.  The mystery itself sometimes seemed weaker than past plots, and I'll also freely admit that I missed Buckshaw!  The characters, the setting, the dependable Dogger and Gertrude...the story arcs that had been built up over the series were seemingly abandoned, and this new setting didn't feel quite like home. Things were touched upon briefly during this novel that I wish had been expanded upon, namely Harriets time at the school and her participation in the Nides, the secret society that Flavia is there to become a part of as well. Secrets were not elaborated on and I hope that Bradley plans on returning to those story lines later to explain in more detail.

In the end, I love this series and so I enjoyed the book. I can't wait, however, for Flavia to be back at Buckshaw, where she belongs.

(I received an advanced copy from Bantam via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

TBR Thursday

Any one else's TBR pile getting out of control?  This week I've added several new books to my pile, and at this point I'm just hoping to get to them all!

First is A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan. So far this novel has been one heck of a creepy read. William Heming is a voyeur (an understatement if there ever was one) and is determined to keep his quiet English village safe from unsavory types...no matter what the cost. This novel is a great addition to the "unreliable narrator" category of suspense thrillers, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.



I've also received an advanced copy of As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley.  What can I say?...I love Flavia de Luce! I was skeptical when I first started the series, but now I'm a devoted fan. This installment has Flavia at her new school in Canada investigating the discovery of a body in a chimney.

Finally, I've received a copy of All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. These sorts of angsty YA novels aren't usually my thing, but I was intrigued by the premise of this one. Besides...I'll try any book once.

What's new on your pile this week?