The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science - by Kate McKinnon

About the Book

"Three orphaned siblings become the pupils of the mysterious Professor Millicent Quibb and enter the world of mad science"--

Book Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestseller!

From beloved Saturday Night Live legend Kate McKinnon comes a madcap adventure about three sisters, a ravenous worm, and a mysterious mad scientist!

So, you want to be a young mad scientist. Congratulations! Admitting it is the first step. The second step is reading the (definitely true) tale of the Porch sisters...

Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch do not belong. They don't belong in the snooty town of Antiquarium, where all girls have to go to etiquette school and the only dog allowed is the bichon frise. They don't belong with their adoptive family, where all their cousins are named Lavinia and their Aunt has more brooches than books. And they certainly don't belong at Mrs. Wintermacher's etiquette school--they're far more interested in science. After getting kicked out of the last etiquette school that would take them, the girls expect to be sent away for good... until they receive a mysterious invitation to new school.

Suddenly the girls are under the tutelage of the infamous Millicent Quibb--a mad scientist with worms in her hair and oysters in her bathtub. At 231 Mysterium Way, the pizza is fatal, the bus is powered by Gerbils, and the Dean of Students is a hermit crab. Dangerous? Yes! More fun than they've ever had? Absolutely! But when the sisters are asked to save their town from an evil cabal of nefarious mad scientists, they must learn to embrace what has always made them stand out, and determine what side they're on--before it's too late!

Don't miss the thrilling sequel, Secrets of the Purple Pearl!

Review Quotes

"This book is just like a mad science experiment: terribly mysterious, surprisingly smelly, potentially explosive, and a whole lot of fun. I recommend it to mad scientists and mad readers alike. Everyone will love this book. Unless, of course, their name is Lavinia."--Pseudonymous Bosch, New York Times bestselling author of the Secret Series and the Bad Books

A #1 New York Times bestseller
One of Audible's top 10 best kids listens of 2024
Longlisted for the 2024 OWL Awards (The Outstanding Works of Literature)
An Amazon Best Book of 2024 for ages 9-12
An NPR "Books We Love" 2024 best books of the year feature
AnAssociated Press, 2024 Holiday Gift Guide feature

"McKinnon's debut combines madcap adventures with imaginative worldbuilding and charming characters, all enhanced by illustrator and comic book artist Alfredo Caceres's endearingly creepy illustrations. Fans of Lemony Snicket and Pseudonymous Bosch should enjoy McKinnon's wordplay and humorous footnotes, and a cliffhanger ending will likely leave readers eager for more hijinks."--Shelf Awareness

"This book upsets me. It frightens me. I cannot wait to read it again."--Lemony Snicket, New York Times bestselling author of the Series of Unfortunate Events series

"The narrator, one G. Edwina Candlestank, is at turns conversational, dramatic, and flippant, but always engaging...Hand this to any young student (and sci-fi fan) trying to find their place in their community."--School Library Journal

"An endlessly inventive smorgasbord of fun, Millicent Quibb reads like a collab between Edward Gorey and Kurt Vonnegut: hilarious, proudly strange, and slightly twisted, with real humanity and a ton of sweetness at its heart."--Ransom Riggs, #1 NYT bestselling author of the Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children series

"Brimming with imagination and wit--what a wonderful heart-racing read!"--N. E. Bode, author of the Anybodies trilogy

"Fiercely feisty and unapologetically goofy."--Kirkus

"It comes as no surprise that Kate McKinnon writes with the same unique sense of humor and heart that has made audiences fall in love with her time and again. Her quirky and unforgettable characters in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science will have readers laughing out loud and plotting experiments for many generations to come."--Chris Colfer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Land of Stories series

"It's no surprise this book made me laugh out loud--after all, it's written by Kate McKinnon! But I was also delighted to meet this fantastic cast of clever characters and to be drawn into a mad, mysterious world that reminded me, in all the best ways, of the stories I most loved growing up. (And love even more now.) Kids will eat this up! Unless a ravenous worm eats them first! Give them this book and a decent head start!"
--Trenton Lee Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of the Mysterious Benedict Society series and The Secret Keepers

"Kate McKinnon's middle-grade debut is a tour de force of wild invention that offers a trio of science-mad (or mad scientist?) sisters and a backstage peek at how stories work. If you're wondering if it's funny--as in, Kate McKinnon funny? Belly-laugh, mind blown, did-she-really-just-say-that funny? Yes! It is that funny."
--Maryrose Wood, author the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series

"McKinnon celebrates weirdness in this ludicrous and unpredictable female-centered romp... Ink drawings by Cáceres give vivid life to the amusing absurdity of this over-the-top, 1911-set tale where Pastramibirds fly and monstrous sharp-toothed worms have hankerings for bichon frise."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Kate McKinnon is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, award-winning performer, and writer, who is celebrated globally for her work in film and television. Young readers will recognize her voice role as 'Ms. Frizzle' in THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS RIDES AGAIN for Netflix. She recently played 'Weird Barbie' in Greta Gerwig's worldwide blockbuster hit, BARBIE. The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science is her debut novel.