Title - Something Strange and Deadly
Author - Susan Dennard
Series - Something Strange and Deadly #1
Genre - YA Paranormal Zombies
Format - Hardcover
Published - July 24th 2012
Publisher - HarperTeen
Synopsis
The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.
Review
Eleanor has arrived at the
train expecting to pick up her brother the last thing she expects is the alarm
for the walking dead. She’s even more shocked that a zombie delivers a telegram
from her missing brother explaining he’s delayed. After spending almost
everything on a homecoming part her mother resorts to having a séance not that
they really work but it will have to do. Later that night during the séance things
start to get real when her mother contacts a spirit and not the spirit of her
dead husband she was attempting to contact.
As if worrying about her
missing brother and zombies aren't enough now she has the evil spirit that was
unleashed at her mother’s party. Plus her mother is dead set on getting her
married so that all their money issues will be solved but getting is the least
of Eleanor’s concerns. Eleanor decides her best choice is to enlist the aid of
the Spirit-hunters to help find her brother and deal with the evil spirit her
mother set free on Philadelphia. She first meets Daniel the inventor in the
team who is too busy to talk to her, than meets Joseph the one who has the
ability to lay the zombies to rest. Daniel and Joseph are in town to take care
of the Necromancer who has arrived in town and started raising the dead. Eleanor
learns far more than she expected the more time spends with the Spirit-hunters
the more secrets she starts to uncover.
I like Eleanor she has a
good head on her shoulders when danger is lurking. I think she handles all the
craziness in her life really well. She’s a character that is easy to connect
with you can’t help cheering her own as she advances though the story. I can't imagine dealing with a mom who wanted to marry me off at 16 for money, much
less the zombies running around town running amok. She has two potential
suitors one an eligible bachelor all the girls want and the inventor who’s been
down on his luck and not had the easy life. I really think Daniel is a perfect
character for her; however I didn't like Clarence from the start and kept hoping
the zombies would get him so maybe I’m a little biased. Though the story didn't have a lot of romance I do hope to see more in the next book with Eleanor and
her guy.
I knew right from the
start I would love Something Strange and Deadly, with a beautiful cover it’s
hard not to be curious plus throw in a few zombies I’m sold. I was instantly
drawn right into Eleanor’s story because right away she’s fleeing from zombies.
I found the story to be a mix of action, mystery, and a little romance that
created a perfect story for capturing the imagination. I found the book fast paced hard to put down
because I just had to know what was going to happen next. I actually started
this book two weeks ago but didn't have time to finish it before I needed to
squeeze in a few reviews so it’s been haunting me for weeks. I’m thrilled I had
the morning to sit down and finish it’s a fantastic story. Susan Dennard has
created a brilliant story mixing zombies into a steampunk story and we all
know everything is better with zombies. The book is clean so teens as well as
adults will be able to enjoy and it’s not a blood gore fest for the zombies
either. I loved the book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series.
5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book so much that I went out and bought the hardcover the day after it came out. When my mom asked me why I needed to buy the book when I had the ARC, I told her that I wanted to start supporting my favorite authors because the more books they sell, the more books we get.
ReplyDeleteMarlene
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