Kiki Strike

The Kiki Strike series by Kirsten Miller is a series of novels revolving around the adventures of six girls in Manhattan, and currently consists of two books (Inside the Shadow City and The Empress's Tomb).Infobox Book
name = Inside the Shadow City


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Kirsten Miller
country = United States
language = English
series = Kiki Strike
genre = Novel
publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing
pub_date = 2006
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 387 pp
isbn = ISBN 978-1582349602
followed_by = The Empress' Tomb

eries titles

* "Inside the Shadow City" (2006)
* "The Empress's Tomb" (2007)

Main Characters

Ananka Fishbein

Ananka Fishbein is the narrator and one of the main characters of the series. She, although not wealthy, attends an elite school in Manhattan, called Atalanta, and lives in a small apartment nearby that is crammed with books on every subject imaginable.Although she doesn't believe it, she is quite intelligent and very eccentric. She wears glasses, and has brown, mousy hair.

When asked what she would like to be when she grows up, she says she would like to study the Giant Squid. At the beginning of the book, she needs to be led by Kiki Strike, but by the end she is a leader herself.

Ananka isn't gifted in school, but she learns much more importent things, such as how to survive in dangerous situations and to look at things and see them as they were in the past. Her parents do not recognize her special talents, and are instead very focused on how she does in school.

Kiki Strike

Kiki Strike is a small, white-haired girl who founds the Irregulars and is often considered the leader of the group. Although her platinum hair and unhealthily pale complexion are off-putting, she is said to be extremely attractive.Kiki is always determined to help everybody who needs help. She is clever, and an expert at kung fu.Kiki's cousin, the Princess Sidonia, is also her archnemesis, who's mother poisoned Kiki's whole family, and even Kiki. Sidonia is determined to kill Kiki, because as long as Kiki lives, she might someday rule. Kiki in turn wants to get Sidonia's pink diamond ring so that she can use the inscribed instructions to find directions to the proof that Sidonia's mother had killed her mother. Kiki was left allergic to almost everything a special nutritious gruel that Veruksha prepares for her. She has escaped to New York, with her caregiver and friend Verushka Kozlova, whom she lives with. She is sometimes bossy, and very ambitious.

Luz Lopez

Luz Lopez is the 'electro-genius' and inventor in the Irregulars. She is bright, but also very snappy on occasion, and has a hot temper.

Her special skill is technology. When we are introduced to her at a Girl Scouts of the USA meeting in Manhattan, she is sharing her latest project - a bugging device.

She is good friends with DeeDee Morlock, but often clashes with her, quick to point out the fact that DeeDee is much more well off and privileged than she. Although Luz was innocent, she has a criminal record which she is often worried about. DeeDee Morlock

DeeDee Morlock is an incredibly talented chemist. She is incredibly clumsy, but very kind and shy. She is the daughter of a chemistry professor, and quite wealthy.

We are introduced to her at yet another Girl Scouts meeting, where we are told she has just "succeeded in refining a particularly dangerous strain of botulism".She is the scientist of the groups, and during the course of the series crafts many clever concoctions, including several explosives and Morlock's Miracle Mixture, a self-made substance which repels poisons when digested, and Fille Fiable a concoction used to make one seem trustworthy.

Betty Bent

The third Irregular to be introduced to us, Betty Bent is a master of disguise. Her parents are theatre costume designers, and Betty is always in a self-made disguise. She rarely ever shows her true form, even though she attends the Girl Scouts weekly.

When going to meet Betty, two scouts mistake Ananka for Betty and accidentally insult her.

However, despite her idiosyncrasies, the other Girl Scouts worship Betty, and are kind to her.

Betty is incredibly shy, sweet and forgiving, rarely clashing with the others' strong personalities. She is also very brave.

Oona Wong

A disgraced girl scout, Oona Wong is a master hacker and forger. She is incredibly feisty, blunt, and a tad haughty. She has a love of fine clothes and jewels.

However, apart from this, little is known about Oona. Her background remains a mystery until the second book where it is discovered that she is the daughter of Lester Liu, the leader of the Fu Tsang.

Iris McLeod

A honorary member of the Irregulars, Iris is known as the little girl who is always saving the Irregulars lives. She is often picked on by Oona, as she is the youngest and smallest of the Irregulars. She is eleven, though is also credited for looking like an eight year old.

She helped Dee Dee come up with the "Fille Fiable" in the second book.

References

*cite book | title=Inside the Shadow City | last=Miller | first=Kirsten | authorlink= | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=30 May 2006 | id=ISBN 978-1582349602

External links

* [http://www.kikistrike.com Kiki Strike Official Website]
* [http://www.kikistrikeny.blogspot.com Ananka's Diary]