Book Review: The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
It’s hard to be a girl in the patriarchal world Marya has grown up in. While her brother Luka is on the fast track to become a sorcerer (and one of the nation’s elite protectors), Marya is constantly in trouble.
Dragomir Academy, hidden away in the distant mountains, is where bad girls go. If they’re lucky (and learn to mind their manners), Dragomir grads can end up working as support staff for important sorcerers. If they’re not — well, at least they can’t cause trouble miles away from civilized society. At first, Marya is determined to follow all the rules and show that she’s not trouble after all. Gradually, though, she realizes that the men in power are hiding dangerous secrets and that sometimes good trouble is worth the risk.
I am clearly the target audience for a middle grades boarding school novel about taking down the patriarchy through education and fabric crafting, so I am happy to say I really enjoyed this lovely little fantasy. I recommend it.
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AMY SHARONY is the founder and editor-in-chief of home | school | life magazine. She's a pretty nice person until someone starts pluralizing things with apostrophes, but then all bets are off.