What We’re Reading

Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5: Lady Friday | Garth Nix

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Definitely not a book to be read without reading the prior four, Lady Friday picks up not long after Sir Thursday left off. Leaf awakes in unknown surroundings, and feeling pretty funny. Following the warning of a worker, she makes it back to bed just in time to feign sleep, as she and her roommates are herded away by a group of Denizens of the House.

Within the House, Arthur is awoken in equally strange surroundings, though he realizes quickly he must be in Sir Thursday’s room. He has just enough time to get dressed, and find himself disturbed by the new vindictive streak Part Four of the Will seems to have added to Dame Primus, when he’s whised away to somewhere entirely unknown, and find himself in a pile of snow.

Spying Fetchers on the horizon, he immediately chooses a direction to make off in, and considers himself lucky to come upon a building. Though reluctantly, its occupants open up, and Arthur finds himself amongst some of the most unhelpful Denizens he’s met yet.

Leaf, whose destination turned out to be Lady Friday’s retreat, somewhere in the Secondary Realms, has called to the Mariner for help, and is trying to plot a way to save herself and her Aunt Mango from whatever nastiness Lady Friday is bound to have in store for them. She does manage to get a call off to Dr. Scamandros, though it gets cut off by Superior Saturday’s minions, and concludes with her getting caught by Friday’s Noon. Still, it’s something.

Arthur, finding himself surprised by the sudden appearance of Suzy Blue and Fred in the company of a Newnith soldier, is also working up a plan. One involving getting to the Top Shelf to find Part Five of the will, which he hopes can lead him to the Fifth Key, in possession of which he can force Lady Friday’s abdication. Along the way, many unexpected allies are made.

And on we go, jumping between stories, until the gang find themselves all in the same place, hoping their scheming hasn’t been for naught.

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