This novel is written by two authors, Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The point of view that the authors use in this novel is a little different than most students are used to. This book is written using letters.
The setting of this story is England in the early 1800, during the Regency period. Most students won't know any of this, so they might be interested in learning a little bit more about the time period. Especially those gifted kids.
There are two main characters in the story, named Cecelia (Cecy) and Kate. They are best friends who are also cousins. Because of an unfortunate, unladylike event involving a goat, they are separated during their Season. Cecy is left behind in their country home, while Kate is allowed to go to London with her obnoxious sister, Georgy and overbearing aunt to come out for her Season. The two girls write letters back and forth to each other, telling stories of their fascinating encounters and interesting adventures.
Kate comes across a little garden in the middle of a building. While there, she meets a frightening woman who, to Kate's bewilderment, calls her Thomas. She tries to get Kate (Thomas?) to drink scalding chocolate, that Kate clumsily spills on said scary lady and manages to escape. A couple of evenings later, she is asked to dance by a mysterious man who tells her. "I am Thomas" also known as the "Mysterious Marquis". For reasons you see later, Kate and Cecy actually referring to Thomas as the "Odious Marquis". After Kate meets Thomas, her Season is thrown into disarray, while trying to help the marquis avoid the frightening antagonist named Miranda.
In the good old country, Cecy meets the niece of a neighbor. Dorothea is able to catch the attention of any man she wants, like bees drawn to honey. All she wants, however, is a simple life with a more simple boy. Cecy, in the process of trying to help Dorothea, meets a stubborn and devastatingly handsome young man named James. She and James, communicating with Thomas and Kate via their letter writing, encourage, narrate and help each other with their problems with deranged, psychopathic magicians.
The interesting thing is that each author is writes from one of the girl's point of view. And they didn't sit out and plan out the story. They just started writing the letters to each other, and the plot expanded out of that. Wrede writes from Cecy's perspective, while Stevermer writes from Kate's.
My favorite character has to be Thomas though. I like him because he has some of the best one liners in the entire book (hilarious) and he is a good, well-rounded character. He's obnoxious, rude and drives Kate and Cecy crazy, but means well. He tells Kate during their first encounter, "Practice your dancing. With enough study you might attain a degree of proficiency". I won't say anymore because these characters are all well-rounded, well-thought out characters that you and students need to discover for themselves.
Okay, now on to my review. This story is so cleverly written. These girls were not the average young women found during the Regency time period (Kate gets in trouble for gilding her toe nails with gold). But their spunk, wit, and intelligence is so endearing and fresh, it's impossible not to like these two heroines. The story itself is about friendship, love, magic and commitment.
This is definitely a book for students that are at a 7th grade reading level, at least. There is a lot of vocabulary in the book that they may have a hard time with. They also need to have a good understanding of point of view and setting. They may need a little bit of a background knowledge of the time period. Students that appreciate character development will especially enjoy this novel, since the strength of this book lies in the characters.
I hope you enjoy Sorcery and Cecelia Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer as much as I do!
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