Start off the school year with Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress. Kress's debut novel is distinctive in both voice and content. The writing is described as whimsical and tongue-in-cheek, reminiscent of A.A. Milne with the snark of Lemony Snicket. Alex and the Ironic Gentleman would be a perfect read aloud at home or in the classroom.

Alex Morningside is an inquisitive ten-and-a-half-year-old who attends the prestigious Wigpowder-Steele Academy. The new school year introduces Mr. Underwood, who is as passionate about fencing as about good grammar. Mr. Underwood has a family secret -- the swashbuckling and buried treasure kind. When the infamous pirates of a ship called the Ironic Gentleman kidnap Mr. Underwood, Alex sets off armed with only a bicycle and her wits while doggedly pursued by the evil Daughters of the Founding Fathers' Preservation Society. Along the way Alex picks up a sidekick in the temperamental cat Giggles and encounters a cast of strange and magical characters including the Extremely Ginormous Octopus, the MakeCold 6000 refrigerator, Coriander the Conjurer and Captain Magnanimous. Eventually Alex ends up on the Ironic Gentleman, face-to-face with the dreaded Captain Steele the Inevitable, whose identity comes as a surprise.

Alex is a plucky heroine who persists in her efforts despite her fears, exhaustion and lonliness. Readers will root for her from start to finish. The novel's episodic plot and shifting settings keep the reader's interest. It's smartly written for intermediate and middle grade readers and parents won't have to worry about the maturity of the content. If you like Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, we suggest you try Timothy and the Dragon's Gate.

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress
Weinstein Books, 2007
978-1-60286-005-6