A review by mandygris
Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross

3.0

Who doesn't want a story about a witch with pluck? One who acquires, hones, and applies her skills to a noble purpose. One who does not give up when faced with difficult challenges. One who can cleverly think around problems.

As far as YA stories go, I was relieved to see one with these qualities. Extra bonus - there was no romantic interest. It's nice to see a story where a girl works to solve her own problems and takes comfort in her friends and family.

My concerns are with two items primarily:

1) The scene where our young heroine stands up to a bully, but does so by making her trip and fall, then mocking her weight in front of her peers. Our heroine's friends never discuss how this is a cruddy thing to do. No one does. Sure, girls are catty and that is a reality, but can no one speak up? It seems ignoble in action for a YA heroine.

2)
SpoilerThat Bianca knows all this advanced magic, but wasn't prepared to get Mabel into a proper vow to keep her promise of removing the curse just boggles my mind. You think she would have been groomed to know how to ensure she got what she wanted, and to be prepared for trickery from a woman who is clearly a tyrant. She was duped more than once too. Baffling.