The Peculiars, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

I dislike writing reviews on books I didn't like almost as much as actually reading the books. This book was one that I thought I'd enjoy, and I had every intention of finishing it until I realized that I had to drag myself to pick it up and that I had plenty of other books waiting in my bedroom that I was a lot more interested in.

Lena always knew she was different, and not only from a gut feeling but from actual physical proof: she has abnormally large hands and feet. Her father disappeared years before and there were rumors that he was a goblin from the mysterious land of Scree. When Lena turns 18 and receives money her father left for her, she decides to journey to Scree to discover the truth (or something like that). She ends up in a small town on the coast and meets a bunch of not so interesting people and stays there for as long as I had the book open.

I was excited when I started the book because unlike many others with similar plots, this one actually moved at the beginning. The problem wasn't the beginning though. Because the momentum started so early in the novel, I expected the entire book to run at a high pace but was dismayed to discover that most of the rest of the book was dreadfully dull. At some point I flipped to the end to see if that interested me at all but even though the ending did look interesting, I realized that the author's writing style didn't appeal to me and despite the intriguing ending, I did not get the extra push from it that I needed in order to finish the book.

One major contributor to the intense boringness (is that a word?) of this book was the author's attention to detail. As an extremely curious person, I sometimes get annoyed by lack of detail and explanation but McQuerry explained way more than necessary and provided enough details that not only could I imagine Lena's world, I was also bored by it.

2.0 stars

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.