Me on Wrapped

Title: Wrapped
Author: Jennifer Bradbury
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Atheneum (S&S imprint)

Agnes Wilkins is 17, the time to make her debut at hand in 1815 London, England. At a party held by a neighbour, she participates in an unwrapping, the removal of the bandages around a mummy, and finds something interesting. Something she hides away to keep for herself. Something no one was meant to find.

The mummy was not a mummy, her artifact is instead a very important secret, and soon Agnes is immersed in mystery and international intrigue. And it might get her killed.

I love books set in this time period. There's something rather classy and glamourous about England between 1810 and 1850.

The book started off a little slow, felt a little repetitive, but once Agnes started moving around and got wrapped up (no pun intended) in this huge mummy mystery conspiracy, I enjoyed it a little more. Not everything was easy for Agnes, which was good. Characters should have to struggle and work to figure out solutions to their problems.

After the slow beginning, the pacing picked up and I enjoyed the story and the history Bradbury weaved into Agnes' desire to not be like every other girl and marry someone titled and rich. Agnes could almost be a cliché, the girl who wants to control her own destiny and be with a boy of her own choosing at a point in time where most girls married young and had babies. There are lots of books with main characters like this, this isn't new, but I didn't mind it in this instance. Sometimes, you need a girl who totally wants to go against a lot of ingrained social customs.

I thought the romance could've been a bit more developed, maybe a few more kisses or moments of blushing and hand-holding, but I liked the interactions between Agnes and Caedmon. They fit together, a girl who doesn't want to be a normal, proper, boring young woman, and a poor young man struggling to work and gain respect from both his co-workers and society.

Wrapped is a brand new historical YA novel that's both entertaining and light-hearted. Easy-going with moments of action and international intrigue, this is sure to interest young readers who want a mix of Egypt with their Victorian England. It's fun and easy, not so serious. Perfect for a book to read just for fun over a summer weekend.