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A review by thebakersbooks
The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
5.0
5/5 stars - relatable and inspiring
"Your beauty is not a tax you are required to pay to take up space in this world. You deserve to be here."
Quotes like that speak for themselves, don't they? I found The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy immediately relevant to my experience as a woman (and I imagine that will be doubly true for women in STEM fields). This may be historical fiction, but author Mackenzi Lee rooted her main character's story in timeless fact.
I was so pleased to read a novel with an aro-ace main character. Too often, I have to turn to middle grade books if I want to avoid romance (and that's not always a guarantee); it was refreshing to have a main character address her preference in this regard and have her friends and family accept her explanation. Forgoing a romance arc also left more time for adventure and Felicity Montague's tale of self-discovery and self-affirmation.
Felicity story is compelling because she's determined and bold, but also flawed. She reads like a real person—and a real teenager, too. There's a poignant subplot about meeting a childhood friend with whom she had a falling out, and she realizes that she has to accept some of the blame for their final argument when the friend says, "You're not better than any other woman because you like philosophy better than parties and don't give a fig about the company of gentlemen or because you wear boots instead of heels and don't set your hair in curls." So there's no "not like other girls" nonsense here, and Lee spells out clearly that strong, interesting women can be feminine as well.
The only flaw I found in the book was a smidge of hopefully unintentional oversight of trans people. There was a mention of all women being familiar with needing to remove blood from clothing or something similar in reference to menstruation, when not all women (and not only women) menstruate.
I really can't recommend this novel highly enough, particularly to young women (and even more to ones pursuing a male-dominated career). And of course, there's no reason it wouldn't be a wonderful reading experience for people of any age or gender! It reminds me of Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent and Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles, but heavier on the action and geared toward the young adult audience.
And lastly, two more quotes from Ch. 4, the whole of which my notes inform me is a "big mood":
"...they are men in a large group, which always excites a sort of primal fear in me."
"...and gives me a smile that he likely thinks is kind but is in fact the smile of a man about to explain something to a woman that she already knows."
A final note: I listened to the audiobook, and Moira Quirk's narration was lovely!
"Your beauty is not a tax you are required to pay to take up space in this world. You deserve to be here."
Quotes like that speak for themselves, don't they? I found The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy immediately relevant to my experience as a woman (and I imagine that will be doubly true for women in STEM fields). This may be historical fiction, but author Mackenzi Lee rooted her main character's story in timeless fact.
I was so pleased to read a novel with an aro-ace main character. Too often, I have to turn to middle grade books if I want to avoid romance (and that's not always a guarantee); it was refreshing to have a main character address her preference in this regard and have her friends and family accept her explanation. Forgoing a romance arc also left more time for adventure and Felicity Montague's tale of self-discovery and self-affirmation.
Felicity story is compelling because she's determined and bold, but also flawed. She reads like a real person—and a real teenager, too. There's a poignant subplot about meeting a childhood friend with whom she had a falling out, and she realizes that she has to accept some of the blame for their final argument when the friend says, "You're not better than any other woman because you like philosophy better than parties and don't give a fig about the company of gentlemen or because you wear boots instead of heels and don't set your hair in curls." So there's no "not like other girls" nonsense here, and Lee spells out clearly that strong, interesting women can be feminine as well.
The only flaw I found in the book was a smidge of hopefully unintentional oversight of trans people. There was a mention of all women being familiar with needing to remove blood from clothing or something similar in reference to menstruation, when not all women (and not only women) menstruate.
I really can't recommend this novel highly enough, particularly to young women (and even more to ones pursuing a male-dominated career). And of course, there's no reason it wouldn't be a wonderful reading experience for people of any age or gender! It reminds me of Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent and Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles, but heavier on the action and geared toward the young adult audience.
And lastly, two more quotes from Ch. 4, the whole of which my notes inform me is a "big mood":
"...they are men in a large group, which always excites a sort of primal fear in me."
"...and gives me a smile that he likely thinks is kind but is in fact the smile of a man about to explain something to a woman that she already knows."
A final note: I listened to the audiobook, and Moira Quirk's narration was lovely!