Knightley Academy

Gr 8-Up Haberdasher introduces readers to an alternate history in which a treaty among the nations of the Britonian Isles has made combat training illegal at Knightley Academy. Though electricity is commonplace, horse-drawn carriages are far more frequently used than cars, and weapons technology remains at the level of swords and polearms. Servant boy Henry Grim is the first commoner to be admitted to the elite academy, which trains police, detectives, and other protectors of the public. Negotiating his way through his classes is the least of Henry's worries, however. Someone doesn't want commoners at Knightley and is working hard to sabotage Henry and two other misfits. Add a brewing tension in the Nordlands, and the political sphere of Henry's world becomes far larger than the orphan boy ever believed possible. Beginning with a self-conscious narrator in the style of J. M. Barrie or Lemony Snicket, the story progresses with the same kind of school-story mystery that worked so well in the "Harry Potter" novels. However, there is no magic herejust classical knightly studies and political commentary written on a level that even reluctant readers should find accessible. The characters, particularly Henry and his early nemesis, Valmont, are well drawn. Henry's outcast roommates and the unconventional daughter of the headmaster are also appealing. Clearly set up as the beginning of a series, the book should do well with some "Harry Potter" readers, but is unlikely to have the same widespread appeal."Alana Joli Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.