SuitabookA Most Improper Magick
Stephanie Burgis
- Reading
- Read together if useful, pausing when the sisters make different choices; invite your reader to compare their reasons without assuming that one sister’s approach is presented as right.
- Themes
- Girls and social expectations: Kat challenges the expectations placed on girls in her society and is described as willing to disrupt its conventions. The plot puts resistance to social convention in view, but does not establish how the story ultimately weighs it.
- Magic and responsibility: Kat tries to learn to use the magical ability inherited from her mother while acting to protect her family. The story connects new powers with a protective mission, but their broader costs or limits are unclear.
- Marriage and family finances: The family’s financial difficulties lead the stepmother to pursue a wealthy match for Elissa, whose intended fiancé is surrounded by troubling rumours. The proposed marriage raises questions about family need and personal choice; the book’s fuller treatment is not clear.
- Worth knowing
- The plot includes family financial strain, the death of Kat’s mother, a marriage arranged for financial reasons, and danger connected with Sir Neville’s interest in Kat’s magic.