The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books
354 Pages
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.
Review:
Release Date: May 1, 2012Publisher: Amulet Books
354 Pages
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.
VISIT THE AUTHOR:
FIND THE BOOK:
Warning: This review contains girlish squeals, rambling and quite a few capitals. It probably won't make much sense.
I LOVE THIS WRITING. Sorry for the all-caps, but I cannot stress that point enough. Here, let me give you a tidbit:
"Her hands spidered out like daddy-longlegs."
I love creepy bug references.
"It belched great sighs of steam in satisfaction."
And a little alliteration.
This book has the strangest names for people and places. It's so creative and really intriguing. I knew from the first chapter that I would love it. It's perfect. PERFECT, I TELL YOU.
Jimson is adorable and sweet and I want to hug him. He's quite naïve and always says what is on his mind, even if it's not the right thing to say. And he really grows as a person as the story progresses. Plus, HE WANTS TO BE A LIBRARIAN. He's the perfect man. He really cares for Lena and he's a great, enthusiastic and strange character. Jimson is really awesome. I loved the parts with him best.
I love Lena, too. She reminds me a lot of myself, though she is far less outspoken than I am. She loves to read, loves books in general, much like myself. She tends to shy from company, and though it is for different reasons, I do, too. She's so sweet and gives a observant perspective. Everything is so new to her that her descriptions make sense and aren't annoying.
THERE IS A CAT IN THIS STORY. Mrs. Mumbles. Oh goodness me. Another reason to love this book. Cats are my favorite animals of all time. So the story was made ten times more awesome just by Mrs. Mumbles' presence alone.
The most interesting character in this book is definitely Mr. Tobias Beasley. He is almost completely without hair, this includes eyebrows. He must paint them on. He's clever, smart and very brave, while maintaining a great sense of humor. PLUS, Tobias is one of my favorite names ever because the characters named Tobias are usual completely awesome. i.e. - Tobias Hankel from Season Two of Criminal Minds, and Tobias aka Four from Divergent. Need I say more?
Marshall Thomas Saltre is a character that you love to hate. Lena holds some interest in him, but I think it's mostly her naïvety and that fact that he compliments her. If I was in her position, I'd kick him where the sun doesn't shine and run away. He always seemed very creepy and condescending, in my opinion.
"Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean; and so betwixt the two of them they licks their platters clean." - I love, love, love this little tongue twister that Lena gives us early on in the story.
Why did it take me so long to read this? WHY. Seriously. The writing is just magnificent. I am addicted to the author. I've never really read Steampunk novels before. I think in total, I've read two others, which were Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel and Kady Cross's series. I enjoyed them, but this one was so much better - no offense, it's in completely different ways.
The writing is slow. I'll admit it, it does do some dragging, but it really works for this novel. There is a huge pick-up in the writing closer to the end of the book, when the real adventure begins. It all fits with the personality of the protagonist. This book has a lot of scientific discovery and discovery of Lena herself.
The basic idea of this entire review is that I LOVE THIS BOOK. I think it's amazing. I know many others disagree, but if you open your mind and give it a shot, I think steampunk lovers of all kinds would love it, too!
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher from Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.
No comments :
Post a Comment