Oh, man. It is rare that I come across a character that inspires such visceral feelings of hate as Professor Umbridge did in HP, but Miss Mable joins her on my list. Yet, even while hating her, I have to admit to some admiration for just how much planning she had done to accomplish her goals, and just how well she was able to manipulate situations to her favor.
Do not underestimate her.
Bianca gets that warning about Miss Mable before beginning her education at Miss Mabel's School for Girls, and she tries, she really tries, to do just that. She has a plan, after all - one that she will see through to fruition. She has the confidence and determination to do so. If only that were all it took.
I don't want to say too much and potentially give away spoilers, so I'll stop there. What you should know is that this is a great book. The characters are very well written, and even the side characters with whom we have little interaction are not ignored in that regard. I can only imagine that before sitting down to write this book - indeed, the entire series - the author had a very large billboard full of index cards with little pieces of information, with various connections illustrated via red string (it's always red string, isn't it? Why is that?), so that she can keep track of all the twists and turns, all the reveals, that happen for the characters along the way.
And then we have that ending. That ending! OMG! It was sooo good. I wanted to throw things at the author (but in a good way) for some of the things, but I also wanted to give her major high fives and props for other things. The last couple chapters were such a roller coaster that I got to the "The End" before I even realized it. And now I'm definitely ready for book 2. Except maybe I'm not; or, at least, my emotions may not be. Because Katie Cress takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster from the very beginning and, like any good roller coaster, it's over before you're ready while still acknowledging that perhaps you need some recovery time. Either way, I know I'm going to get back on the roller coaster that is book 2. How can I not? Roller coasters are as thrilling as they are terrifying, and Bianca's experiences with Miss Mable fit that to a T.
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