Elizabeth North had an unusual childhood: after the sudden death of her parents, she was sent to The School of the Good Sisters, a boarding school where she adopts a duck, nurses it back to health and then releases it back to the wild. This starts her love of ducks and she dedicates her life to researching them. As an adult, however, this means that she has trouble making ends meet which means that there are days when she and her daughter Calla have to visit the food bank to eat and use candles to light their home. So when Elizabeth suddenly gets a job offer involving ducks that will solve all their financial problems, she jumps at the chance, and, much as she will miss Calla, she knows exactly where she has to send her: The School of the Good Sisters. Everything seems to be working out perfectly until Calla arrives at the school and things don't seem to be as perfect as Elizabeth portrayed them. Then, when Elizabeth goes missing and the head teacher seems to be changing the school completely, Calla decides that she needs to take action.
How To Be Brave is a slightly different take on a girls' boarding school story: it has everything you would want from a boarding school: dormitories, hidden passages to creep along, rooftops where you can have midnight feasts, but it also has the most evil head teacher who will stop at nothing to get what she wants - can you believe she even bans fiction books?! However, the other nuns at the school are rather different to the nuns you may expect: they are happy to organise clandestine book deliveries; have a constant supply of biscuits and teach aircraft maintenance - they made me wish I'd been to boarding school!
Although flighty Elizabeth is initially the main character in the book, it's her daughter Calla who who is actually the protagonist and, in complete contrast, is a sensible, determined and rather independent young lady. Along with a group of like-minded girls she meets at the school (Edie is très magnifique!), they help create quite the adventure within the confines of the school grounds.
It would be remiss of me not to make mention of the use of footnotes within the novel; something I don't think I've ever come across in MG fiction but enjoyed. They help to add to the humour that runs through the book and also enhance the narrator's voice - the rather exuberant Good Sister June whom I loved!
All in all, How To Be Brave is a great adventure for those who love a good boarding school story. There is a traditional feel to the story but with a modern twist. Throughout, the theme of good versus evil is evident but there are also themes of family struggle, grief, bravery and friendship all perfectly wrapped up within the pages. Perfect for fans of Robin Stevens, this is a heart-warmingly funny book that will make a wonderful new series (will there be more? I hope so!)
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