Reviews

The Ministry of Unladylike Activity by Robin Stevens

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bookb1itch's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this. I wanted to know something about the new Stevens series, rather than blithely adding it to my school library. I actually feel this one is more appropriate for tween readers than the first in the "Murder most unladylike" series. Coincidentally, I began reading this (eBook) on a flight, after beginning my first Christie experience in print, and K Rundell is correct - Stevens IS Christie for kids! If kids want to read murder mysteries, this is the perfect place to start. I especially like that there were not black and white good vs evil themes and that in he author's note Stevens writes that Britain was not blameless in the suffering caused by WWII. Highly recommended, particularly the way Stevens uses 2 different viewpoints to tell the story, developing friction, then friendship between the two narrators, May and Fionnuala (sp?).

Content Warnings

sg1987's review

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

samreadsthings's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.5

becky_lehman3's review

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3.75

There were a lot of good messages about emotions and reacting to situations and other people. But there were too many mysteries and too many characters, so the story was too long and got boring. Explaining the clues and alibis got repetitious. Also it seemed very odd for Daisy to suddenly appear and help finish solving the murders. May's Reports and Nuala's diary were too similar in tone - I kept mixing up who I was reading. May's personality became diluted and Nuala seemed the main character, perhaps because May's Reports seemed identical to Nuala's. Also, per Erick became a really minor character - I kept forgetting he was even in the story.