Princess Smith and the Clockwork Knight

by Rob St.Martin

Britt Smith always thought of herself as a normal girl. Well, as normal as the motherless daughter of the town blacksmith could be. She didn't wear dresses, grow her hair long, or giggle about boys like the other girls of Alice's Vineyard. The other girls didn't get into fist fights, help out in the smithy, or play with mechanical toy dogs and dragons. But still, Britt thought she was pretty normal, all things considered. Until she discovered that her Da was no normal blacksmith, either. Until she discovered the giant suit of steam-driven armor he kept hidden in the back room. And there was that mysterious marking on her back, the marking that got the attention of a stranger who came to town one day. The stranger who returned with soldiers, and turned Britt's life into anything but normal. Now Britt is on the run. Alone in the giant suit of armor, she must escape her pursuers, fight off her enemies, and make her way through the wider world beyond the peaceful valley that's been all she has ever known.

Genres: Steampunk

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Corrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my full review at wadingthroughbooks.wordpress.com!

I really liked this book. Britt is very torn between being a ‘normal’ girl and her love of machinery. She does like pretty things, but she likes to work in the smithy and take apart her clockwork toys as well. The other children in the village don’t understand her because she looks different and acts different (like a boy they say, wearing pants and working in the smithy), and the noble family who tries to help her don’t understand her because she wasn’t raised in a castle with fine things and money. Britt really wants to fit in, but she cannot deny her passion for machinery and smithwork and her need to be useful and not just decorative, the way a princess is supposed to be. Rob St. Martin creates an interesting world and a strong heroine. One issue I do have is with the ending–Britt is ceremonially crowned the princess of the kingdom, but practically speaking but practically speaking the Empire still controls the land. It feels incomplete–I hope that one day Rob will write the sequel and continue the story. Britt is not a girl who will sit back in safety and allow others (men) to win her kingdom back for her, and I’d like to follow her journey.

[Krismas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good steampunk book for teenager girls. Adult steampunk fans will enjoy it too. This was the first Rob St. Martin book I read and it made me a fan. I can't wait for the sequels.