Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly, #1)

Something Strange and Deadly
Susan Dennard
388 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Southern ARC Tours
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

This is my first review for Southern ARC Tours and I have to say, what a great way to start!  Something Strange and Deadly was an absolute delight to read and I'm really happy to be sharing this with you today.  Right off the bat, I'm going to tell you if you like YA paranormal fiction or YA historical fiction, this is a book for you.  So go get it.

Something's brewing in post-Civil War Philadephia.  Eleanor's brother has gone missing and meanwhile the dead are rising.  Fearing for her brother's safety after a zombie delivers a note from him, Eleanor sets outs with the help of The Spirit-Hunters to find him and to solve this pesky living dead problem once and for all.

The thing that drew me in right away to Something Strange and Deadly was the author's voice.  The writing in this novel is simply gorgeous and I kept turning the pages to find charming little phrases like "merciful heavens."  In addition, Susan Dennard drew a world that I wanted to experience - well, maybe not the living dead aspect, but certainly a world of fancy gowns, corsets, parasols, and parties with seances.  Who wouldn't want to get dressed to the nines and attend a seance?  I know I would.  How come no one dons gloves to attend the opera anymore?  Why don't we have different gowns for riding in carriages, walking, or playing croquet?  But I digress...

I loved Eleanor's character a lot, too.  First of all, how great is the name Eleanor?  Second, I loved her feminist attitude.  Even though Eleanor does have to be saved by a male lead a couple times (and even gets a schmancy new parasol out of it) she still is chomping at the bit for some independence by eschewing corsets and by calling people by their first names when she shouldn't be.  When Eleanor knows something needs to be done, she may call for the help of others but she's also going to jump in there and get to work herself.  She's no delicate flower and that's why we love her.

Five stars!  I absolutely adored every bit of this novel, from the historical fiction aspects to the paranormal aspects, which bordered a little on steampunk.  This was a fantastic novel, well-written and enchanting; I highly recommend it.

11/12 complete!