Things are looking rather dismal for poor Maggie Fishbone. She’s been kicked out of an orphanage and sent to The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls—Judith Rossell’s latest don’t-miss novel. As Maggie enters her new home, she hears a woman say, “Another poor kid. They go in, but you never see them come out again, do you?” There’s a special reason for that, it turns out, which will delight both Maggie and readers alike.
Rossell’s previous books include a historical series about another charming heroine named Stella Montgomery, and here she continues to be inspired by gothic Victoriana, creating a joyful world of nonstop suspense that manages to be a mashup of Charles Dickens and Roald Dahl. Instead of being a place of cruelty and drudgery, the Midwatch Institute is led by kind, stalwart Miss Mandelay, who greets Maggie and two other newcomers with cakes, hot chocolate and a concert from a special organ that she calls an “explosion calliope.”
Maggie, Nell and Sofie find themselves swept into a school for whip-smart girls, learning useful skills like Morse Code, knot tying and how to spot fake diamonds. Intriguing, comical sidebars delineate these lessons. While “most people just want girls to be quiet and do what they’re told, Miss Mandelay trains them to “solve mysteries and do good deeds and fight bad guys,” and the newcomers have arrived just in time to pursue the city’s “Night Monster” and to help track down a kidnapped botanist.
There is empowerment galore as Maggie and her Midwatch pals perform James Bond-like feats—as well as prose full of madcap energy and glorious humor, with names like Noodleheimers department store and fake dolls whose hidden compartments contain matches, a knife, scissors, a whistle and more. The plot ticks along without missing a beat, while Rossell’s wonderfully imaginative illustrations heighten the creative fun.
Like the Harry Potter series, this book centers on a rather unusual school—but, instead of magic, this one is based on girl power, smarts and ingenuity. The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls is a zany romp, filled with humor, attitude, kindness and edge-of-your seat adventure.
