The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 15, 2014

Review

Berry dishes up a dark and comical, Victorian-era melodrama featuring seven female boarding students who watch their headmistress and her cruel brother die at Sunday dinner after eating poisoned veal. Motivated by their desires for freedom, the girls try to keep on as if nothing has happened whilst they bury the bodies in the garden, solve the mystery, masquerade as their mistress at the strawberry social and juggle all the visitors who have come to call. This is a complete package of hilarity and the book jacket art by Bruno brilliantly sets the stage. The beginning of the book displays a portrait of each girl by Bruno as well as a preface that enlightens the reader to why the girls do not want to be sent back home. Berry's writing style is spot-on in terms of dramatic farce and timing. Even the seven girls names brand them with a negative connotation e.g., Disgraceful Jane, Stout Alice, which adds a flair of blatant inappropriateness to the consistent mix of clues, devious suspects and budding of romances. Older fans of Lemony Snicket will be drawn to this farce.

Overall Book Score: excellent