Book Review: Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

Kat, Incorrigible

Publisher: Atheneum

Publish Date: April 5, 2011

Hardcover, 304 pages
Young Adult, ages 10 and up 
ISBN: 978-1416994473

My Review:
This was the first book I picked up during the Spring read-a-thon in 2010 (I won it in a giveaway) and it is a perfect read-a-thon book because once you start reading it you will not want to put it down.  This book had me from the first sentence:

I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed as a boy, and set off to save my family from impending ruin. I made it almost to the end of my front garden...

I mean doesn't that just set the tone so well.  Kat, Incorrigible will keep you turning the pages and laughing at the same time.  Kat is a wonderful, strong female character, but she is still just 12 years old which back in 1800s England was older acting than now, but still a child.  She is trying to take on the world, or at least her Stepmama who is trying to marry off her older sister Elissa to a much older and not very nice man.  Elissa makes a great older sister and I love her love of gothic novels and her desire to be a gothic heroine.  She is partial to drama but not an annoying drama queen, more of the oh woe is me, I will do this to help out my family even if I suffer.  Angeline is in between Elissa and Kat in age and personality.  She has more of Kat's spirit and is a little mischievous too. All three sisters are great in the book as is the Stepmama.  As I stated during the read-a-thon, I kept picturing Angelica Huston as Stepmama after her role in Ever After (though this is not a Cinderella story at all).  She just fit.

There are other characters in the book as well and they all fit the book very well.  I loved the magic of the book.  It was fun and light.  The plotting was well-paced and kept me interested until the end. Ms. Burgis does a wonderful job on both plot and characters.

I can't say enough about this book - it is just fantastic and I think it will appeal to girls of all ages (though it is marketed to ages 10-15).  Kat gives girls something to aspire to, she is trying to figure out right and wrong and just how to be herself and she is a beautifully done character.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

About the Book:
Twelve-year-old Kat Stephenson may be the despair of her social-climbing Step-Mama, but she was born to be a magical Guardian and protector of Society--if she can ever find true acceptance in the secret Order that expelled her own mother. She's ready to turn the hidebound Order of the Guardians inside-out, whether the older members like it or not. And in a society where magic is the greatest scandal of all, Kat is determined to use all her powers to help her three older siblings--saintly Elissa, practicing-witch Angeline, and hopelessly foolish Charles--find their own true loves, even if she has to turn highwayman, battle wild magic, and confront real ghosts along the way!

About the Author:
Stephanie Burgis grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, but fell in love with Regency England when she discovered the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. She decided to be a writer when she was seven, and sold her first short story when she was fifteen. Stephanie lives with her husband, fellow writer Patrick Samphire, their baby, and their dog in Wales. (from Amazon.com)

Her webpage: http://www.stephanieburgis.com/
Her blog:  http://www.stephanieburgis.com/blog/

FTC Information: I received this book from the author Stephanie Burgis.  I won it on Lisa Mantchev's blog.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.