Something Strange and Deadly Review

Something Strange and Deadly
by Susan Dennard
Expected Publication: 07.24.12
From Goodreads:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.  

  My Thoughts:  This book was unexpected.  It didn't even feel like a YA book, despite the age of the characters, but that's not to say that it's not YA appropriate.  I think it's the period of the story, because a young woman was usually much more mature than the average teen now.  


Eleanor, or Miss Fitt (yes, it did take me until she figured it out that her name was misfit), is a great YA heroine.  She's brave, taking care of her delusional mother and searching for her lost brother.  Trying to keep her and her mother afloat financially would be hard enough, but then her brother is kidnapped by a zombie raiser and suddenly she's going all Buffy at with the help of the Spirit-Hunters.


There's a little romance in the form of two men in her life.  First is her friend's rich, ambitious brother.  Clarence is a jerk, but he genuinely seems shocked by Eleanor and her attitude.  He's got secrets, and Eleanor is not the type of girl to just let things go.  Plus her mother is fairly determined that Eleanor should marry Clarence to save the family.


Daniel is one of the Spirit-Hunters, and not even the leader.  He's got his secrets too, but sparks fly between him and Eleanor in a very Hans Solo-Princess Leia way.  Only because the setting is in the 1800's don't expect too much, this is a time period where just a man and woman touching in the most innocent way was considered steamy.  There's a scene between Eleanor and Daniel that reminded me of the Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightley and Matther Macfadyen version) movie where Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage and their bare hands touch and it shakes both of them up.  And I love that!  I love that a simple touch can mean so much more in a time when unmarried people just didn't touch.  In someways its a lot sexier than any actual sexual act could have achieved in the book.  


The two other Spirit-Hunters, Joseph and Jie, are equally awesome.  Joseph is all Creole and tragic hero, and Jie is just kick ass.  She lives as a Chinese boy in a time period where it's very hard to be Chinese in America, but even worse for Chinese American women.  Or just women in general, because Eleanor is under a lot of pressure from society to fit into their rigid views of how women of a certain background should act.  Joseph, Jie, and Daniel make a great team, and Eleanor worms her way in, and it's a perfect fit despite her friction with Daniel. 


I've seen this book categorized as Steampunk, and while it does kind of have that feel when it comes to the Spirit-Hunters, I don't know that it really fits that genre.  Something Strange and Deadly just isn't like a lot of other books.  I really felt Susan Dennard captured the time period quite well, which I'll admit I wasn't really expecting in a YA book.  I will definitely read the next book in the series, because the ending left so many loose strings, not unanswered questions necessarily- I don't want you to think the author cheats the ending, but there is definitely enough hanging in the air that you want to know what will happen to our Miss Fit and the Spirit-Hunters.


Something Strange and Deadly gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Cover Rating of:

It's pretty and eye-catching.  It definitely made me want to read the book, but it doesn't really fit the book all that well.  While Eleanor is pretty, she's not some 17-inch waisted Scarlett O'Hara as she's pictured on the cover. Still, it's a cool cover.


**Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.