Venturess (Betsy Cornwell)

Author Biography

Betsy Cornwell has written four YA fantasy novels, served as columnist and editor at Teen Ink, and taught multiple subjects at Notre Dame. She currently lives in Ireland.

Published By: Clarion Books

Year: 2017

ISBN: 9780544319271

Reading Level: Grades 8 and up

Reader’s Annotation:

After her Cinderella-like rise to success, steampunk inventor Nick is called upon to defend the magical race of Fey from oppression and slaughter. But whose lives will be most transformed by her journey: the Fey’s, or her own?

Plot Summary:

A year has gone by since Nicolette Lampton left her cruel stepfamily and opened her workshop of mechanical marvels. She’s now living “happily ever after,” with customers eager to buy the products she makes with the help of her clockwork insects and her coal-powered horse Jules, and with close friends Caro and Fin (a.k.a. Prince Christopher) by her side. But not all is well in their world. War is now raging between the land of Esting and its oppressed colony of Faerie, home of the Fey people whose mysterious magical Ashes brought Nick’s mechanical companions to life. Soon an assassination attempt on Fin triggers talk of full-scale genocide against the Fey, to be carried out by a fearsome army of machines.

Amid this turmoil, Nick receives a letter from Mr. Candery, her childhood caretaker, now a Faerie sergeant. He begs her to bring the prince to Faerie to negotiate peace. Accepting the offer, Nick, Fin and Caro set out on an adventure full of wonder and peril. The journey will put their skills to the ultimate test, reveal dark secrets, and force them to examine themselves and their relationships with each other. Nick’s “happily-ever-after” will never be the same.

Critical Evaluation:

This sequel to the outstanding steampunk “Cinderella” retelling Mechanica loses none of the first book’s magic, but leaves the fairy tale behind. In its place is an action-driven story with higher stakes and a darker edge. Here Nick fulfills her childhood dream of exploring the land of Faerie. With her, we see the wonders of that land, delve into the Fey’s unique and fascinating culture, and see more awe-inspiring steampunk creations than ever before. But at the same time, childish fantasies are shattered, as Nick’s adventure soon becomes a harrowing coming-of-age journey. She and her friends face the horrors of war, fully realize the cruelty of colonialism, and learn shocking secrets that will change their lives forever. Yet through every experience and change, Nick remains Nick: a magnificent inventor, wise beyond her years, iron-willed and sometimes prickly (far from the ever-sweet, all-forgiving Cinderella of tradition), yet with great compassion and great capacity for love.

This brings us to the book’s most progressive element: the steady growth of Nick, Fin and Caro’s friendship into a healthy polyamorous relationship, in which all three partners love each other equally. Their bond defies all traditional boundaries. They call themselves “family” and support each other as such, but thought their love remains innocent it can’t possibly be labeled platonic either. This threesome is portrayed with unabashed positivity, as all three characters gain and heartbreakingly lose many things, but can always rely on each other. Even more than Mechanica did, Venturess deconstructs the concept of a simple fairy tale “happily ever after”; but “ever after” or not, we’re still left believing that anyone (regardless of sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, talents, and whether their family is one they were born into or one they found) can achieve happiness.

Curriculum Ties:

*Fantasy worlds

*Fairy tale retellings

*Colonialism

*Diversity

*Feminism

Challenge Issues:

*Violence

*Disturbing imagery

*Threatened genocide

*Implied child molestation

*LGBT+ themes

*Polyamory

Why This Book?

Exciting, moving, forward-thinking, and beautifully fantastical yet beautifully human, Venturess is both a worthy sequel to Mechanica and an absorbing grown-up fairy tale in its own right.