Customer Reviews

Kat, Incorrigible

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's 1803 England and twelve year old Katherine Ann Stephenson is no lady! And she has no plans on being one either! So there!

Katherine Ann, or "Kat" for short, just discovered that she's managed to inherit her Mama's magical talents, and much to the consternation of all, she's bound and determined to use them. One way or the other. But when her eldest sister Elissa's sinister fiance, Sir Neville, shows decidedly too much interest in her magical talents and then Angeline, her other sister, is running amuck with her own wayward magical abilities, of course it's Kat to the rescue for one and all.

Kat, Incorrigible opens with these words "I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed as a boy, and set off to save my family from impending ruin." I was enchanted! I was hooked! I loved every word in this book! Stephanie Burgis has successfully created an alternate world and characters that jump off the page and into your heart and imagination. Kat, Incorrigible is funny, heartwarming and all together too much fun. I loved that Burgis had Kat find her Mama's magic book with her Papa's name written beside the love spell. Kat is rebellious and yet respectful and determined to save her family!

Stephanie Burgis has created a magical world within Kat's Regency England that is filled to the brim with fully developed characters, both the good and the not so good, the bumbling, the charming and the not so nice people in Kat's world are clearly written and easy to envision. The story and plot lines flow with a well timed rhythm that you willing want to follow.

I can't say enough about my love for Kat and this book. I"m sharing it with every young person I can find this year. And a few not-so-young people too! I can't wait to see what Kat and Ms. Burgis bring us next!

Sometimes middle-grade books are the some of the best books out there, and Kat, Incorrigible, Stephanie Burgis' fabulous debut, proves this point even further. Full of memorable characters, action, and wit, there is nothing not to love about this book, in my opinion!

Kat has always been the one most likely to get in trouble in her family, though she cannot help it that she does not like to follow the rules of society. She just has too much fun being her own improper, unique self. To make matters even better, she has recently discovered that she has inherited her mother's magical talents. Hoping that they will be able to bring about truth in her mother's demise, she knows she will have to learn how to use them, especially when her sisters' own disastrous love lives came into the mix as well. However, with the Order of the Guardians as well as her oldest sister's fiancée following her every path, this will not be the easiest of tasks! Will Kat be able to save the day? Will she ever get Step-Mama to understand her better? Only time and more pages will tell in this tale perfect for all ages!

Kat is without a doubt one of my favorite protagonists ever for many, many reasons. For one, she is smart and feisty- a girl who will do anything to make her family happy, even if it means taking some dangerous jumps along the way! Secondly, she is a perfect role model for young girls and boys. She shows that it is okay to be yourself, that doing what you think is right is the best thing in the world. Lastly, she is resilient yet feeble in some ways, making a perfect mix, if I do say so myself. Oh, how I wish I had Kat to read about in my younger years...

Better yet, the secondary characters in this are amazing as well. Fully developed and full of life, there's isn't a moment where they don't jump off the page and come to life. My favorites would have to be Kat's two sisters, who had similar hearts to Kat's even if they didn't show it, as well as their two love interests, nimble but lovable.

The plot was also a high point. If there's one thing that makes a book addicting, it's action, and Kat, Incorrigible had plenty of it to say the least. There wasn't a moment where I wasn't dying to know what would happen next to Kat and her friends, family and foes, thanks to Stephanie's Burgis' writing, and if that didn't happen, I was probably laughing out loud or possibly rooting Kat on... In addition, I loved the focus on magic, because not only did Stephanie give it a great twist, but she also used it to advantage the plot and characters in the best ways possible.

In all, Kat, Incorrigible is the perfect for all ages and perhaps one of my favorite debuts ever. I'll be eager to see what will happen to Kat next- that's for sure.

Grade: A+

I was actually really surprised at how good this book was, I wasnt expecting much from the title. I've waited a week to write the review and the book has still stuck in my head.
The story was engrossing, I thought it would take on a Harry Potter quality for a little while but then it went it's own way. Kat is a cute kid, a little knowledgeable for her age, but that makes it more interesting. Her sisters and their love lives were also lots of fun. I'd like to read more like it, or maybe find Kat her own love life?
I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 because the stepmother's behavior seemed to come out of no where towards the end. The end also felt a bit rushed, I would have liked more clarity of Kat's talents.

This is the type of book that makes me say words like "delightful" and "charming" in this affected and giggly tone. Readers who liked Marissa Doyle's Bewitching Season or Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecelia will probably love Kat, Incorrigible. Kat has the same upbeat, spunky feel found in these books and is also set in Regency England.

Though a MG book, I can see this book appealing to YA and adult readers as well. Kat is only 12 and so she doesn't have any romance of her own, but she does act as matchmaker for her two older sisters. Her sisters' romances were completely heartwarming and satisfying.

Each of the sisters was equally endearing but very different from one another. It is impossible for me to choose which sister I liked the best, though Kat and Angeline are pulling a tiny bit ahead of Elissa. Kat is spunky and always getting herself into trouble (with hilarious commentary about it all). Angeline has a delightfully wicked streak and a take-charge attitude I loved. Elissa is the prim and proper sister who harbors a penchant for the drama and romance of Gothic tales. The interaction between the sisters reminded me of Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwick sisters (another series I highly recommend!). I hope we continue to see all of the sisters in future installments.

There is a light-hearted streak through the whole book and all of the scenes are laced with this giggly tongue in cheek undercurrent. I was laughing late into the night at both the events of the book and Kat's hilarious and over the top commentary. I kept reading each scene and thinking, "This is my favorite scene!" only to read a scene a few pages later and think the same thing all over again.

This is the first book in a series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. I really hope Stephanie Burgis runs with this series and makes a bunch of books following Kat as she grows older, gets into more trouble and adventures, and just maybe falls in love.

This book is a riot. The crazy antics that Kat gets into never fails to make me chuckle. Her impulsive, headstrong, and stubborn personality gets her into a lot of trouble and it's just hysterical watching her try to get herself out of them.

And this is what makes the book shine. The characters. The main girl is such a wonderfully vibrant personality that you can't help but laugh or shake your head as the story moves along. I love how there's a sense of deep camaraderie and loyalty between the three sisters, and how they'll always be there for one another despite how angry or hurt they are by the others' decisions/actions. Angeline wants to learn more and is caught up between letting her sister, Elissa, know about her dabbles in magic and have something to herself. And Elissa herself is stuck between her family duty and true love. It's all very well done.

Stephanie Burgis's writing style is vibrant, smooth, and quite enchanting. There's a certain charm to it that just pulls you in and makes you want to read more. And from what I can tell, it's very appropriate for the time period. You won't want to put this book down for any length of time.

The plot is simple with obvious predictable clichés but it's really the characters that make it shine. You'll just speed through the pages that you won't care or notice how things are shaping up to be exactly what you thought they would be. And, in fact, by the end you'll be glad that the story came to its conclusion the way it did because it leaves you satisfied and eager for the next installment.

This was first published in the UK last year under the title of "A Most Improper Magick" but now that it's being published in the US, you don't want to miss out on this.

I confess, I've been waiting for this one for over a year. It just sounded like a delightful read. And it was well worth the wait. Kat is just the sort of character that I love to read about. She's feisty and loyal and determined, but very human in her mistakes.

When Kat learns that her sister, Elissa, in order to save the family from disgrace, is being pushed into a marriage with Sir Neville, a rich widower about whom rumors swirl, she is determined to stop it. When her first plan involving running away dressed as a boy to London fails, she must come up with another plan to save her sister and family. Taking place in the Victorian era, this has shades of Jane Austen, except for a younger age and with magic thrown in for good measure. I found the writing to be good but not perfect, but the real fun is in the characters and plot. Almost immediately the reader starts cheering for Kat in her efforts to help, despite the fact that her plans tend to be rather dramatic and impulsive in nature. When Kat investigates her mother's things, she discovers a world very different from the one she has known, but throws herself into the magical realm with as much enthusiasm as she does everything. I found the book to be delightful and well worth reading multiple times. Definitely one of my favorites of the year.

I received an advance reader's copy for review from Amazon Vine.

Kat's adventures begin with, "I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed as a boy, and set off to save my family from impending ruin." I have to say that my inner child was hooked from the start.

Kat is the youngest of four children in early 1800s England. Her older sisters raised her after their mother died, so she is babied even more than most youngest siblings, to her ever growing consternation. Their older brother has squandered the family fortune and eldest sister Elissa is being groomed by Stepmama, a social climber and obligatory impediment to Kat's freedom, for marriage to the wealthy Sir Neville. Kat is tired of being told she can't do anything to help, so she goes looking through her mother's magic books and belongings and finds more than she bargained for. Country parties, sinister suitors, stuck up magicians, secret societies, lovestruck young adults, highwaymen, and it's up to Kat to sort it all out.

This was a really fun read. Historical purists will no doubt take issue with details and speech, but it's a kids book and I thought that the level of detail was enough to establish the setting, and just right for the age of the intended audience.

I'd recommend for kids reading at the 9-12 age range who love magic. It will be on my short list of gifts to buy for girls around that age (although I'm sure some boys would enjoy it - there is a bit of action, I still see it as a book that mostly girls will want). For adult readers - I'd put this at about the level of the early Harry Potters.

I really hope that we'll get the further adventures of Kat Stephenson soon.

Kat, Incorrigible is about a young lady Kat Stephenson who has magic running through her veins. She loves defying her stepmother in just about any way she can. Kat is only twelve years old but she thinks she is the only one who can save her sister from having to marry a man she doesn't love. She cuts her hair to look like a boy and tries to run away but she is caught by her sisters.

Kat never knew her mother she grew up with only what her sister might have told her, but she did know that her mother was a person who had magic. She had seen her sister Angeline with their mothers magic books and that she is dabbling in magic. She also realizes that her sister put a love spell on a young man who is extremely smitten with Angeline. So she decides its time to find out more about her mother and sneaks into the cabinet where all her mothers belongings have been stored. While she is here a small gold compact catches her eyes. With this compact begins a very magical adventure.

Kat braves herself against a dangerous Highway man, faces off with the nasty man Elissa was suppose to marry, breaks very strong spells and even though things never seem to go the way she has planned she always seems to save the day, so to speak.

Kat, Incorrigible was a fun quick read that will interest young readers as well as old. It over all is just a cute story about a young girl who is trying to find her place in her family. Her two sisters knew their mother, but she did not. Her two sisters are of marrying age while she is not. She can't stand her stepmother trying to marry off Elissa just to get money so she fights back. When she discovers she has magic in her it makes her feel more connected to her mother.

One thing that I was a little puzzled over was the fact that she didn't take well to her stepmother. I don't remember how long her dad had been married to her stepmother, but I would think since she grew up with out a mother she would have took to her more. She just seemed so emotionally not attached her her stepmother and it seemed strange to me.

Over all I think its a fun book for everyone and would recommend this book to those who like quirky, fun books about magic.

Any Jane Austen fans out there? Looking to the next generation and wanting them to be interested in those wonderful books but still feel they are a bit too old for them? Oh, do I have the perfect solution. Let me introduce you to Kat Stephenson a girl who will never be on the best behaved list. Kat is the main character and the one who is the most adventurous of the 3 girls. Charles, their older brother has kept the family in financial ruins which prompts the oldest sister, and the most dramatic of them all, Elissa to marry into money. Stepmama found the perfect catch. However the catch is, is that he lost his last wife to some very unusual and suspicious circumstances. Trying to do what is right and also trying to find out what magics Angeline, the middle sister, has been preforming, Kat stumbles onto a magic mirror who claims her as her own.

Hm... as to what happens next. I cannot say. Angeline put a lip lock (finger lock?) spell on me to prevent it. I will say, however, that if you love fun adventure, strong willed smart women, and a MG/YA tribute to Jane Austen then you will enjoy this book. The story does start out a bit slow but quickens the pace as soon as the first adventure of magic appears (which happens quickly). I give this book 4 1/2 stars.

Kat, Incorrigible is a surprisingly wonderful middle grade read. I expected to enjoy it because I love MG books, but I didn't think I'd love it as much as I did. Stephanie Burgis has created a character that is endearing, intelligent, funny, and strong. For a twelve year old girl, Kat sure has a lot of spunk to her. It isn't just Kat that's a delight to read though. Every single character serves a purpose and has his/her own personality.

Taking place in the early 1800's, Kat, Incorrigible revolves around proper ladies, social status, and magic. The magic is key and oh so fun to read about. Kat's will to keep her sister, Elissa, from marrying Sir Neville, a possible wife murderer, drives her to do some drastic things, but it's all out of love. The family aspect plays a huge role and was handled perfectly. Elissa, Angeline, and Kat all love one another, but they fight as well. They're sisters and bickering is part of that. Being around them made me long for a sister of my own.

The story isn't exactly short, but moves very quickly. Kat's adventures range from averting the attention of Mr. Gregson to wanting to be held up by a highwayman. Along the way, the secondary characters will either make you swoon - thank you Mr. Carlyle - or want you to punch them in the nose - I'm looking at you Sir Neville. Even the wickedly evil, yet somehow not entirely terrible, Stepmama was three-dimensional.

Kat, Incorrigible is delightful and enchanting, with a full cast of characters to entertain any reader. I felt so content when I finished it. The story came full circle and left me with a big grin on my face. I love a happy ending and the way Kat and her sisters live out their discovery about magic, their deceased mother, and even realizing their Stepmama isn't so bad, couldn't have made me any happier. This is the start of a series and I honestly cannot wait to see where it goes next.