Read This Book, I Insist!

I love Stefan Bachmann’s debut novel, The Peculiar! It is a gorgeously dark and vibrant steam punk fairytale with a host of fantastic characters. I could not put it down! The story is set in a town called Bath in England – already an exciting start -where fairies and humans interact on a daily basis (the most exciting of interactions to occur in a book, in my opinion). Children have begun to go missing, but the authorities have turned a blind eye as the missing children are changelings, half fairy and half human. Bartholomew, a changeling, is thrown into the midst of the kidnappings when his sister Hettie is taken by a beautiful woman who has a nightmarish face protruding from the back of her head (gasp). The Peculiar is a surprise to behold; it is at once a deeply dark gothic coming-of-age story and an enchanting, magical fairy tale. It is a book you will be able to read over and over (think Harry Potter); with its beautiful language and imaginative world, you will not be let down. I highly recommend this book! Please read it! I insist!