Review by Kira Toal, teen reviewer

peculiars

The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

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 with inhuman characteristics that make them despised by the general public), so Lena takes her journey as an opportunity to learn more about her own ties to the Peculiars and her bizarre goblin-like features. Along the way, Lena is introduced to a wide array of both human and Peculiar characters, including two potential love interests: Jimson Quiggley, a young librarian, and Thomas Saltre, a marshal who passionately loathes Peculiars. Lena also faces an internal struggle as she searches for her place in both worlds (Peculiars and human) and discover the truth behind her father, the wilderness of Scree, and even her own Goblinism.

I have many opinions regarding this book, although an unfortunate few are positive. However, my impressions of this book may not match your own or those of others who have read this book, so I strongly encourage you to read a few other reviews on The Peculiars before completely crossing it off of your list. Maureen Doyle McQuerry does maintain a gorgeous writing style throughout the novel and a few chapters were certainly compelling and full of adventure. However, the plot was too slow to develop and too dry for me to fully enjoy. The story line picked up remarkably around two-thirds of the way through with an engaging escape scene and terrifying creatures, but nearly every chapter before it was filled with drawn-out descriptions of Lena’s awkward, half-developed love triangle.

Aside from the plot, the characters were hard to relate to, mundane, and, unfortunately, excessively incompetent. A character making a poor decision from time to time is sometimes essential for a book’s plot to move forward, but ultimately, nearly every character was seething with imprudence and pride, and their arrogance made it impossible for me to have any connection to them. The one character that had any sense in this book was Mrs. Mumbles, and she was a cat.

I give this book 2 stars. The plot was too slow, the characters were dull, and, though I won’t spoil the ending, I feel as though the book was left unfinished. However, the writing style was beautiful, and, though they weren’t all communicated effectively, the themes behind the novel did have some shining moments. –Kira Toal, Teen Reviewer

 

Find the book in our catalog: The Peculiars

Call number: YA FIC MCQUERRY,M

359 pages

Summary: Eighteen-year-old Lena Mattacascar sets out for Scree, a weird place inhabited by Peculiars, seeking the father who left when she was young, but on the way she meets young librarian Jimson Quiggley and handsome marshall Thomas Saltre, who complicate her plans.

Subject headings:

  • Adventure stories.
  • Identification (Psychology) — Juvenile fiction.
  • Abnormalities, Human — Juvenile fiction.
  • Goblins — Juvenile fiction.
  • Adventure and adventurers — Fiction.
  • Identity — Fiction.
  • Abnormalities, Human — Fiction.
  • Goblins — Fiction.