Review Detail

4.1 8

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles #1)

Young Adult Fiction 598

100 Word Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset

February 16, 2012

Overall rating

2.3

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

X-Men as sleuthing 1890s London teenagers. Split-personality Finely Jane plays the Wolverine role, with duke Griffin King substituting for Professor X. (Watch for Gambit, Emma Frost, Colossus, Forge, Quicksilver.)

Convenient modern tech, invented by one girl, was eye-roll worthy. Removing the steampunk veneer could strengthen the advanced technology.

Despite predictable plot twists seemingly ripped from 1990s cartoons—-Finley’s family secret; power origins; The Machinist’s Diamond Jubilee scheme-—the tropes are still fun.

(And Finley, dear? Bemoaning which dashing lad has you crushing harder—the gentleman or rogue—and if your wuv could ever be? Makes you vapid. Stick to ass-kicking.)

Age Range: Recommended for ages 13+, but your mileage may vary! Minimal swearing mostly of the Brit-kind, moderate violence, minimal alcohol use (please don’t light your absinthe’s sugar cubes on fire >.

Good Points

Easy, light read. Follows its tropes well. Possibly also bad point: X-Men inspiration is easy to spot (down to training room and "Cerebro" like machine.)