Oddity

February 1, 2021
Grades 5-8 The nineteenth-century U.S. of Clover Elkin's day is one in which the Louisiana War took place in lieu of the Louisiana Purchase, ultimately leaving a swath of the country under French control. Its history and landscape have been further shaped by oddities, curious objects--and on occasion, creatures--with inexplicable powers. Clover has long been fascinated by oddities, though her father can't abide them because her mother, an avid collector, was lost to an oddity when Clover was just a baby. Now 12, the girl is suddenly thrust into the world when a gang of poachers murders her father, whose cryptic final words are for Clover to find Aaron Agate of the Society of Anomalogists. The resulting story reads like a richly imagined blend of Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron and Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, and it is fueled by Clover's desire to better understand her family's past and so herself. Matches that stop time, an evil witch, and a talking rooster are but a few of the wonders Brown has in store for his readers.

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February 1, 2021
A determinedly offbeat historical American fantasy. Brown's first entry into children's literature preserves his peculiar brand of whimsy in an episodic, often perilous adventure enlivened by charming woodcut-style illustrations. In an alternate 19th century, the Louisiana Purchase failed, leading to war, and now three powers--France, the 11 Unified States, and the Sehanna Confederation--exist in uneasy balance. Thirteen-year-old Clover's obsession with oddities, strange things that are somehow more--the Wineglass that never runs dry, the Ice Hook that creates its own ice--seems harmless, but oddities killed her mother and attract the bandits who kill her Russian father and precipitate the plot. What follows is a journey through a world with elements both familiar (slavery, rotten politicians, and eager warmongers) and strange. Along the way to the climax, Clover makes friends and enemies and grows up quickly. The vivid sense of place, even pacing, and memorable characterization--including multiple strong girl characters--are real strengths. However, the alternate history narrative may be better appreciated by readers familiar with actual events and therefore able to place the fantasy-world Native nations (inspired by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy) and the history of European colonization in context. The advanced vocabulary makes this a good choice for sophisticated readers. Main characters are White; Clover's neighbor and mother figure is a formerly enslaved Black woman. Clover's village of Salamander Lake is a place where, in contrast to other locations in this world, people of different ethnicities mingle as equals. Intriguing. (map, catalog of oddities) (Historical fantasy. 11-14)

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Starred review from April 23, 2021

Gr 6 Up-Twelve-year-old Clover Elkin has always longed to find an Oddity, one of several magical items hidden all over the world. Her father warns her that Oddities are dangerous; they were somehow responsible her mother's death. But when her father is attacked by a gang of bandits, he tells her to run-throwing her his medical bag, he reveals that he kept one Oddity, and that she must find the head of the Society of Anomalogists. Lost and hunted, Clover's escape soon leads her to encounters with a bizarre assortment of new acquaintances, including a talking rooster who happens to be a famous general, a girl who sells fake elixirs, and a murderous doll with incredible strength. Along the way she discovers the shocking truth about her mother and about her own mysterious past. Set in an alternate version of early 19th-century America, where war is looming between a massive army led by Napoleon Bonaparte (the only actual historical figure mentioned in the book) and an assortment of fighters led by the ambitious Senator Auburn, this imaginative fantasy-adventure is packed with magical items, like a pistol that always hits its target, a hat that steals people's secrets, and matches that stop time while they are burning. The descriptions are lyrical and richly detailed, and the story full of unexpected twists. Most of the main characters, including Clover and her family and the major villains, are white, but her family friend, the Widow Henshaw, is a former enslaved person, and she is also aided by members of a local tribe (the author's note mentions that all of the tribes are fictional, to avoid any inaccuracy in representation). Rytter's striking black-and-white linocuts add to the book's dark, magical feel. VERDICT This strikingly original, beautifully written fantasy novel will appeal to high-level readers seeking magical adventure.-Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA

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