The Peculiars

Just recently, I joined NetGalley mostly out of curiosity as to what it was all about.  Turns out, it's about publishing companies allowing librarians and bloggers and all to read upcoming books from their company.  I requested a few books, not expecting to be allowed to read it, but there they were.  Three emails to me saying that they would love for me to read their books.  Awesome!!!  Instantly, I downloaded the first book, The Peculiars, written by Maureen Doyle McQuerry. 
I've heard about this book quite a lot for one that hasn't even come out yet.  (It comes out May 1st!)  The synopsis interested me a lot:
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.
It's set in the past, mid-1800s, or somewhere around there, and it's steampunk.  I have to say, steampunk is one of my favorite genres.  It's just been one of those genres that has fascinated me for a while.  Maureen definitely did her research with this book.  It's accurate for the time period and she brought a plausible twist to it. 
The story overall had me fascinated and hooked from the start.  It wasn't something that is usual on YA bookshelves nowadays.  It's all vampires and weres and all, but this is all 1800s and goblins.  Yeah.  Goblins.  Not something you hear everyday, is it?
I give this book four stars.  The story was incredible and I enjoyed reading it, but in the beginning, it was a bit slow and a lot of things didn't make sense.  I kept on rereading paragraphs and all because I didn't understand what was being told.  Things did clear up, thankfully, towards the middle of the book.  Another thing was that I felt as if there wasn't enough description for the characters or the setting.  I got a very vague gist of it all, but there were moments where I was confused because there wasn't enough imagery to show me what was going on the book.  And trust me, a lot goes on in this book.  There's a lot of awesome adventure on mostly every page.  It was exciting, but I struggled to imagine it all.  I still have no idea what Lena looks like, and she's the main character!  Jimson, I got a better image of, same as Mr. Beasley, but everybody else was a blob of color in my mind.
Overall, this was a great book that had me hooked from the very start.  There wasn't any mushy romance--which I liked--and it was believable.  I'm excited for this book to come out for others to read.  It is something people of steampunk and the all things weird will enjoy.  So, all of you steampunk junkies and paranormal suckers, go get this book or preorder it on Amazon!
Thanks NetGalley and ABRAMS!

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