Flora Fyrdraaca is the almost-14-year-old daughter of an old and once-illustrious family of soldiers. But now there is little left of their illustrious past: the father is mad, the mother always off working, and the magical butler has been banished so the house is in disrepair. And Flora herself is named Flora Segunda because she is the replacement for the first Flora, blonde and beautiful, lost in the war.
On top of that, Flora is stuck with most of the housework since the butler is gone. She also has her Catorcena, the celebration of her adulthood, to prepare for – speech to write, dress to finish, invitations to sign.
When Flora stumbles upon the butler, she sees a chance to get rid of some of the housework, and for some excitement, too. She happily promises to restore him to his powers. Of course this is not as easy as it sounds, and meddling in magic can have dangerous consequences.
Both the girl and the book are spirited, colourful, outrageous, and keep confounding expectations. All characters are over-the-top but not so much as to become caricatures. At several points I thought I saw a cliched resolution coming up, and I am glad to say I was wrong every time. A fun read all the way through.
Leave a comment