The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

This is subtitled "The Steampunk Chronicles" and has introduced me to a genre that I have experienced before, but hadn't identified as such.

If you've ever watched a movie like "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" or Will Smith's "Wild, Wild West", you've seen Steampunk. What is Steampunk? It's history and future combined. This book, for example, was set in Queen Victoria's England, but the characters have electricity, automatons (robots) that almost think for themselves, horseless carriages... and a multitude of other such things. It's an interesting and very attractive combination of elements that make up the unique Steampunk genre.

This particular book is written for teens and is the first in a promised series. We meet Findley Jayne, who is very troubled by the dark side of her personality which seems to be taking over more and more. When she is taken over by the dark, she is unusually strong, her vision and hearing are enhanced, she becomes violent and powerful. After losing yet another job because of this dark side, she runs into a group of people who, like her, have enhanced abilities. They are led by a young nobleman who promises to help her integrate the two sides of her personality. Meanwhile, there is a different kind of darkness growing in London that endangers the entire empire. Findley and a host of other very interesting characters will have to address this danger or be subject to it.

I really liked this book. The writing is not complex, but the story is very engaging and the characters are eminently likeable. I liked the parallel stories that were going on. I also liked that, unlike many troubled teen books, there were several strong, intact and loving families in the background. There was very little overt sexuality, for which I was grateful, but there were several budding romances and some good chemistry between the characters. It was an altogether fun book to read and, if I can beg them away from my daughter (who introduced me to this book), I look forward to reading the future Steampunk Chronicles.