In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong. Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, "The Peculiar" is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel. (From Goodreads)
I attended the University of Denver Publishing Instiute this summer, and this is the one book that I think all 97 of us were anxiously awaiting to be released. I can't thank Alexa at Alexa Loves Books enough for passing on her copy to me. The Peculiar is the kind of book that just completely draws you into another world, a version of our world that seems it could easily exist.
The beginning of this book is one of my favorite beginnings ever. It begins as a dark and chilling tale, but we are introduced through the history of this world. A world where faerys invade England and war ensues. A world where faerys lose and become secondary citizens, left to live in the slums of Bath. This war sparks an industrial age - because iron wards against faerys - and thus the steampunk element is introduced. Then there is the lady in plum, who performs a horrifying ritual where she thinks no one is watching, but a changeling named Bartholemew sees everything.
This book has it's moments that are completely horrifying, but it's also kind of charming at the same time. Because you have two great underdog characters who step up to save the day. There's Bartholemew who's always been taught not to draw attention. He's young, naive, and all he wants is a friend. Then there's Mr. Jelliby, who is the guy who's always in the wrong place at the wrong time, forcing him to get involved and be an unlikely hero. The (good guy) characters are so adorable and the world is so imaginative, it's hard not to fall in love a little bit.
So if all this isn't amazing, just wait until you hear that Stefan Bachmann started writing this book when he was 16. SIXTEEN! I was almost 100 pages in before I found this out and it completely shocked me. The writing and the story is so sophisticated and refined that this is truly impressive. It's the kind of story that I know I would have loved when I was a child, I love it now that I'm older, and I'm sure I'd love it at any age. I know a lot of amazing books are coming out on the 18th, but make sure this one is on your list to pick up next week. It's incredible.
