Oddity

Description

A fantasy adventure powered by a kick-ass wild-west heroine and a collection of magical objects known as Oddities. "A thrillingly original fusion of adventure, magic, and epic alternative history." - Jonathan Stroud "Written with insouciant charm ... eccentric adventure that is true to its name." - Wall Street Journal The daughter of a murdered physician vows to protect the magical Oddity he left behind - if only she knew what it was - in an alternate nineteenth century in which the United States is at war with Napoleon's France. When her physician father is murdered, thirteen-year-old Clover Elkin embarks on a perilous mission through warring frontier territories to protect the one secret Oddity he left behind. And as she uncovers the truth about her parents and her past, Clover herself emerges as a powerful agent of history. A rich, startling, funny fantasy adventure, powered by an irresistible force-of-nature heroine; Clover Elkin is a born fighter - a heroine to rival Lyra Belacqua or True Grit's Mattie Ross. "Imaginative fantasy adventure ... packed with magical items, full of unexpected twists." - School Library Journal

Eli Brown is a Yaddo fellow with an MFA in creative writing from Mills College. His acclaimed adult novel, Cinnamon and Gunpowder, was a finalist for the California Book Prize, a San Francisco Public Library One-City One-Book selection, and an NPR Book Review Staff Pick. This is Eli's debut children's novel. He lives in California. Jacket illustration by the American artist Teagan White. Interior illustrations by Karin Rytter, including specially commissioned linocuts of the Oddities themselves. Karin is a Scandinavian printmaker and illustrator living in Denmark.

"A thrillingly original fusion of adventure, magic, and epic alternative history." -- Jonathan Stroud * Jonathan Stroud * Written with insouciant charm ... eccentric adventure that is true to its name. -- Wall Street Journal * Wall Street Journal * This book! Oddity by Eli Brown is brilliant. Packed with originality and dark whimsy, imagine Northern Lights colliding with Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Highly recommended. It even looks beautiful thanks to Karin Rytter, and cover artist Teagan White. * Thomas Taylor * Imaginative fantasy adventure ... packed with magical items, full of unexpected twists. -- School Library Journal * School Library Journal * Oddity is fantastically imagined, expertly written, and beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings. It is an adventure that draws us in, just as Clover is drawn to her Oddities. We are intrigued, we want to turn the page, to know more, to experience more, to be taken on the adventure too. A thrilling and highly original story infused with the magical power of excellent writing Clover Elkin's story will be one you will find it hard to leave behind. * Armadillo *