Recommended for Fans Of.: THE EXTRAORDINARY AND UNUSUAL ADVENTURES OF HORATIO LYLE, by Catherine Webb CORALINE, by Neil Gaiman A DROWNED MAIDEN'S HAIR, by Laura Amy Schlitz THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi the THEODOSIA books, by Robin LaFeversĬover Chatter: Right, then. And the crew of Plumpscuttle's - rats and all - is right behind her. Not scary men with face tattoos, not clanking, wheezing mechanical automaton. And, when Sheba finds out her young friend is in danger? Nothing will stop her trying to help. and finds somebody impressed not with her hideousness, but with her skill.
She goes out of her way to be scary, flashing her fangs, drawing up her hands, the nails of which are like claws. When one day, a mudlark girl wanders in - skiving off from her work mudlarking, skipping past the cove at the door, and not paying the entry fee - Sheba finds a friend, of sorts. Her life is every night, the chair in the curtained room, striking a pose, holding it - fangs out, pink nose squinched, claws extended: a freak show. Is this any kind of a life? She has faint memories, of a hot place, marble floors underfoot, and curtains blowing in the breeze. And with them, Sheba the wolf-girl, is tired of being stared at, poked, prodded and gasped over. Together, they are Plumpscuttle's Peculiars hideous, horrid, and humongous. Plumpscuttle is the fattest, ugliest, and most awful smelling of them all. All of those things which really and truly "graced" Victorian sideshows are represented - an Asian "exotic" whose skill is dancing with sharp knives and throwing stars, a disgusting and very disturbing Monkeyboy, whose mad skills are sculpture with snot and earwax, a pipe-puffing old dame with her brilliant vermin, an incredibly ugly strong man. I mean, rats named after the apostles? And, a WOLF GIRL!?Ĭoncerning Character: It's just not every novel that has a narrator with hypertrichosis. And, truly, this book is as WEIRD as any kid could want. Characterizations as a whole work beautifully, and the freakish heroes are imbued with a sort of madcap adventuring spirit that enlivens the best of middle grade literature.
The city itself comes across fabulously - the descriptions of the absolute stench, the mudlarks, the weirdness of Victorian London come through beautifully. Reader Gut Reaction: I was surprised that this book is marketed to middle graders, but the majority of grubby Victorian novels which I've really enjoyed have been directed toward younger readers. simply unlike a lot of other books I've read recently.
FREAKS is surprising and adventurous, and. This is a strangely compelling but freakish little work, first published in Britain in 2011, and winner of The Times/Chicken House Publishing Children’s Fiction Competition 2010. Well, this one has a nice, succinct title, doesn't it? FREAKS.
0 kommentar(er)
