Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress

From the Publisher

Fans of Lemony Snicket, Harriet the Spy, and Alice in Wonderland will love this witty, magical fantasy and its unforgettable tomboy heroine.

A smart, funny mixture of fantasy and high adventure, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman tells the story of Alex Morningside, an inquisitive ten-and-a-half-year-old girl who lives with her uncle above a doorknob shop. A student at the prestigious Wigpowder-Steele Academy, Alex is often mistaken for a boy because of her bowl haircut, but that's okay—she has an excellent sense of humor.

Alex hates Wigpowder-Steele because as much as she enjoys learning, she doesn't enjoy wearing a uniform with a skirt. She also doesn't enjoy her teachers, who are all very old and smell funny and don't seem to know about any of the developments that have happened in the world in the last thirty years. And she most definitely does not enjoy her peers, who are quite simply ridiculous. However, that's okay, too, because her peers don't enjoy her much either. Luckily for Alex, the new school year brings an exciting new teacher. Mr. Underwood makes lessons fun and teaches her how to fence. But Mr. Underwood has a mysterious family secret—the swashbuckling and buried treasure kind—and not everyone is glad he has come to Wigpowder-Steele.

When the pirates of a ship called The Ironic Gentleman kidnap her beloved teacher, Alex sets off on a through-the-looking-glass journey to rescue him, along the way encountering a steady stream of hilarious and colorful characters, including one Captain Magnanimous, Coriander the Conjurer, and the Extremely Ginormous Octopus. Funny, charming, and ultimately tender, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman ends with a twist that readers will find as heartwarming as it is surprising.

Publishers Weekly

As PW's starred book review put it, Kress's rousing adventure is a "wonderful blend of whimsy and moral," involving a sixth-grade heroine, Alex, who lives with her uncle, and a teacher descended from a famous pirate and heir to his treasure. Alex is convinced the treasure map is hidden in the stately manor run by the vicious old ladies of the Daughters of the Founding Fathers Preservation Society. Returning home victorious, Alex discovers her beloved uncle has been killed and her teacher kidnapped. Lane's expressive narration never overpowers the story's simple, observational prose style. He brings to life the many colorful characters by giving them distinctive voices, such as the Extremely Ginormous Octopus whose large, booming, throaty voice would fill a canyon; the refined, aristocratic Charles, a mad scientist; and the snarling bearded gentleman. Listeners will eagerly stay tuned to this fantastical quest. Ages 10-up. Simultaneous release with the Weinstein hardcover (Reviews, July 16). (Sept.)

Children's Literature

What a hoot! Our young heroine, Alex, gives an extraordinary performance with her resounding voice and impish ways as she sweeps across the countryside and sails the ocean blue into one mad capped adventure after another. I read several pages before the book, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, caught my attention and held me captive to this slew of outrageous characters, from the simple unpresuming teacher, to the daughter's of the founding fathers, to the mysterious captain of the ship, Ironic Gentleman. Page after page, nothing normal or expected happened. I could not wait to see what would occur next. It starts with a hidden map that leads Alex to go in search of not only the treasure, but also her teacher, whom she has to rescue. Unexpected villains show up and stop at nothing to keep her from the treasure. Unusual twists and turns happen all the time, and nothing is as it should be. Will Alex get to the treasure and be able to save her teacher? Will she live happily ever after, or will the death of her uncle leave her an orphan forever? The author made me feel like I was part of the adventure, and I wondered to myself what I would do next. The one criticism that I have would be the length of the book. It seemed long and drawn out, where it could have added more tension with a little more cutting. Otherwise, this book is worth its weight in gold and silver.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7 -Sixth grader Alex lives with her uncle above his doorknob shop in this swashbuckling adventure by Adrienne Kress (Weinstein Books, 2007). When the school year begins, she is excited to discover that she has a new teacher, Mr. Underwood. What is surprising, however, is that he is the heir to a pirate treasure. After Mr. Underwood is kidnapped by the pirates of a ship named the Ironic Gentleman , and Alex's uncle is killed by a falling shelf of doorknobs, Alex sets out to rescue her teacher. On her quest, she faces danger and encounters a variety of bizarre characters. Eventually, she is also captured by the pirates and comes face-to-face with the ship's captain. That's when she learns the real irony of the ship's name. The pirate captain is neither a man, nor is she gentle. Christopher Lane deftly moves between the different character's voices, giving each a distinct personality. A must purchase for school and public libraries with substantial audiobook collections.-Kathy Miller, Baldwin Junior High School, Baldwin City, KS

Kirkus Reviews

Alex, a short, slight ten-and-half-year-old orphan, is often mistaken for a boy. This is the first of many apparently inconsequential details offered in a long-winded, occasionally arch conversational narrative that details her trials and tribulations. When her sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Underwood, is revealed as the heir to a long-lost pirate treasure and subsequently kidnapped, Alex rides to the rescue on his trusty bicycle. Along the way, she's chased by crazed, chainsaw-wielding docents, trapped on a train, befriended by a talking refrigerator and betrayed by a conjuror with a drinking problem. She even briefly toys with the notion of joining the bad guys. Kress's plot is undeniably inventive and several episodes will likely provoke laughs. But, the tone is quite dark and the narrative never quite jells. Characters are broadly sketched, making it difficult for readers to care deeply about Alex's situation, no matter how dire. Fans of fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek adventures may welcome Alex and cheer her eventual triumph. Others will likely lose interest long before she reaches her goal. (Fiction. 9-12)

What People Are Saying

Eoin Colfer
From the author of the Artemis Fowl series:
I read Alex and the Ironic Gentlemen, and to be honest, it had me at the title. A clever title to live up to and the story did not disappoint. I found it quirky, hilarious and genuinely exhilarating. There was a nod to Lewis Carroll and a wink to Charles Dickens, but no more than that, Adrienne's words are packed with originality. Alex is a wonderful hero who deserves to return for further adventures, indeed I suspect there will be a riot if she does not. Great plot, larger than life characters. The future is bright.

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