AUTHOR: Maureen Doyle McQuerry
RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2012
PAGES: 368 (ePub format)
PUBLISHER: Amulet Books
READ: February 23 - 26, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK AT: Amazon / Chapters.Indigo
SYNOPSIS This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance.
On
her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father,
who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was
young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual
characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders
if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and
if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian,
Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work
in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is
stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre.
When Saltre learns who Lena's father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr.
Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House.
A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to
confront her deepest fears.
This book had everything that I look for in a good book. It had mystery, it had a great adventure and it had awesome characters. I really enjoyed the story of this book, I did, but that being said I had such a hard time getting into it because of the writing. I also feel I should note that it felt very slow, although that could have been due to my inability to get into the flow of the writing. I'm not a huge fan of books written in the 3rd person and this one was also written in old speak (takes place in 1888). The thing that kept me going on this one was the mysterious land of Scree. I had to know what awaited in that peculiar place, otherwise I would have put this book down in the first 50 pages.
I was also drawn to out MC Lena. She had a longing about
her, she had so many questions and she was willing to go to any length (and
sometimes make terrible decisions with horrific consequences) to get her
answers. I connected with her sense of displacement, she didn't feel that
she belonged anywhere, she wasn't quite normal but she wasn't quite peculiar
either. Jimson was also a great character, I loved his zest for life and
he was a nice contrast, at times, to the serious undertones of the story.
The character I loved the most was Mr. Beasley, he had such a great
heart! The mystery that surrounded him for most of the novel was just as
intriguing as the mystery surrounding the land of Scree.
I would definitely
reccomend this book due to it's great story, but definitely warn of the style
of writing and how it was difficult for me to adjust too.
I just reviewed this not too long ago, too, and had the same feeling about the book. It was good, but it certainly didn't blow me away.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too fond of Lena. I was really hoping for more growth from her character, but I just didn't see it. She made some stupid decisions but never really paid any serious consequences.
With that said, I'm sure there are many who have and will enjoy this book, so - cheers! :-)
Great points Katie, this was a tough one for me, as I said, the only thing that really kept me going was the mystery of Scree. That was also a let down in the end, I wanted to meet more Peculiars. And I agree, I would have liked to have seen her have to deal with the consequences of her actions but rather the people around her suffered the worst, and she faced no repercussions.
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