Changes

Ananka is not an especially confident girl, though she is startlingly clever, a result of her rather eccentric upbringing. Then along comes Kiki Strike. Ananka realises there's something rather mysterious about the tiny, white -haired girl who has randomly appeared in her class at school, but quite how mystifying Kiki will prove to be is something no one could foresee. Infiltrating their meetings and recruiting some delinquent girl scouts (arsonists, forgers, you know the type) is just the first of Ananka's odd adventures with her new accomplice, but when the new group – the Irregulars – starts to take shape, and their starting mission is unveiled things start to get really wild.

Kiki has discovered evidence of a hidden city below New York – below the streets, and below the subway tunnels and sewers – and she needs the girls to help her find a way into it, and to help explore with her. Throw in some mysterious royalty from a distant land, some petty theft and some full -scale robberies, and a peculiar kidnapping plot in which no one is ever entirely sure who, if anyone, the good guys are, and you have a rollicking adventure that puts any Nancy Drew tale to shame.

There are three parts to this book, with the fab story being just one of these. There's also the lovely language and ideas that are presented, and the 'how -to' guides at the end of some of the chapters, featuring everything from how to foil a kidnapping to how to react when attacked by wild animals.

I warmed to the characters immediately thanks to their quirkiness but genuine warmth, and the girl power / teenagers kicking butt theme was quite uplifting. I had no trouble at all getting through this book – it's a real page -turner with a lot of twists that were both unexpected yet also believable. Definitely recommended reading for all wannabe super-heroes, or even just those who dream of a life less ordinary.

Thank you to the publishers for supplying this book. For another weird and wonderful take on NYC, have a look at [[The Invisible Girl by Laura Ruby]]. You might also enjoy [[Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller]].