Mary Naylus

I found this book a quick and easy read. And as my name is Penelope too (the main character is also Penelope, but called picky, I suppose to be hip and trendy!)I thought I would give it a go!! I was very disappointed in it as Time travel books usually have me hooked. The story had holes left right and centre, but it was farily enjoyable if you remembered is written from the perspective of a 13 year old girl, for (in my opinion 13 yr old girls). It was a good idea having the dress transport you back to the time in which they were made, but I think much more could have been made of the story.… (meer)

Picky Robson is a 13-year-old who finds herself in 1680s London after trying on a dress in her grandmother's attic. She is still in the same attic, but someone else is there with her - someone who calls her Amelia and is trying to kill her. She escapes back to her own century just as the murderer's knife presses into her, but from the blood on the dress, she assumes Amelia was not so lucky.

Picky goes back and forth from her own time to the past by putting on and taking off different dresses in the attic, trying to find out who Amelia was and how she can save her from her fate. She has a hard time fitting in with the 17th century; she uses modern phrases that others don't understand, she asks to use a phone, and she actually suggests to one character that they download a book from the internet. (In the oft-repeated words of Picky herself: "No. Seriously.")

I really liked the fact that this wasn't a fluffy, "everything's peachy in the past!" type of time travel novel. Naylus introduces issues such as poverty, servitude, sanitation, and disease, which are almost foreign to modern-day Picky. The overall tone of the book is light, though; Picky is an entertaining, at at times hilarious, narrator. She springs little one-liners in now and then that catch you off guard and keep things from getting too serious.

The book has a solid, engaging pace that kept me reading for hours on end to see how Picky handled her own time and the past. The only downside was that the end felt a little rushed to me, and the reveal of the murderer was a little on the hard-to-believe side. I really enjoyed Naylus's style and her handling of the time period, and I will definitely be checking out her next book, The Plaguemaker, which sounds like it's in progress from the posts on her blog.

Full review originally posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook.… (meer)

Picky Robson's life has gone from bad to worse. Her life is a boy-free zone, she has more pimples than a tiger has stripes and she has to look after her gran, who is suffering from dementia, every weekend for the foreseeable future. One night, Picky is accidentally locked in her gran's attic with no means of an a escape. Tempting fate, Picky slips into an old flouncy dress and, to her shock, finds herself back in 17th Century London. But, she's not alone. A weirdo in a wig is trying to kill her, mistaking her for a girl called Amelia. Who is Amelia? Can Picky uncover the murderer and will she make it back alive
The Dresskeeper by Mary Naylus is an interesting and enticing debut that accurately captures and portrays historical life in London. With its fast paced and developed plot including a compelling mix of time travel and drama, Naylus earns her place as the writer to watch.

The easy wit and humour from this book became easily apparent from the first sentence. Even though it is not a comical achievement (which, by no means do I think it should be) it has certain snappy elements throughout the text that keeps you hooked. The mystery and scandal that surrounds the plot kept me guessing the whole way through until I was bursting with excitement at the final revelation. The variety of historical fiction, fantasy and teenage humour was an original, unique mix that I have never had the pleasure of experiencing before but now that I have I will definitely try to read more material within its genre. The plot was incredibly fast paced and the pinnacle of story had happened from the third chapter. This was an also a redeeming quality of the text but it did have its negative points.

I personally felt that the development of the plot occurred far too quickly and I would have liked to see it be more elaborate and descriptive. Because of the pace the novel travelled at, there was hardly anytime for the characters feelings or thoughts and I would have liked to have found out about Picky’s normal life instead of it jumping between time periods at a slightly ridiculous pace.

Picky, as a character did have some slightly annoying qualities which was quite irritating as she was the narrator of the book. Some of the language she used and also phrases that she used pushed the boundaries of trying and failing to be funny. When this did happen you found yourself cringing ever so slightly. The other characters, for example, Elizabeth, were easily likeable and a small part of me wished that it had been her narrating the story.

Despite all of this, I still feel that The Dresskeeper is a fun, fast paced novel that deserves its place as the property of every teenage girl for 2009!… (meer)

I didn’t think I would enjoy this; I love watching period dramas on TV and at the cinema, but when it comes to reading them, I’m not so great at understanding the language, but I thought I would give this book a go anyway. I am so glad I did, I really enjoyed it!

I loved Picky’s voice, and learning things about the time period through her experience of it. There was no trouble understanding the language as it was all through Picky’s point of view, and it was really quite amusing!

The plot was really clever, and if you’ve seen it, it reminded me quite a lot of the UK TV programme Lost in Austen. I was, however, a little disappointed in Picky’s lack of knowledge about history. She may be 13, but surely 13-year-olds know that the internet is pretty new in the great scheme of things, and would have heard of Nazis.

I also found that Picky’s real school life was a little forced. The events were believable, but the reactions to them were a little off to me. And as much as teenagers may say it, I got a little annoyed with Picky’s over use of the phrase, “No. Seriously.”

The Dresskeeper is a cute story over all, and I really enjoyed reading it. I loved the characters from 1685, and how Picky’s view of things changes, and how she learns about herself along the way. It was a lovely story, and I can’t wait to read what Mary Naylus brings us next!… (meer)