Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.
In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.
Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.
From Booklist
First-time novelist Bachmann crafts an elaborate alternate steampunk Britain, set after the Smiling War, when a door to the Old Country was opened and faeries of all types streamed into Bath. Bartholomew and his younger sister, Hettie, are changeling children, outcasts even amongst faeries. But someone is extremely interested in changelings, kidnapping and murdering nine of them in attempts to open a new door into the Old Country. When Hettie is taken, Bartholomew must try to save his sister from becoming the gateway that will destroy the world. Imaginative, highly descriptive writing includes faerie lore and mystery, thrilling adventure and friendship, and bursts of the fantastic and whimsical, all of which is tempered with a darkness that permeates the story. Alternating points of view from Bartholomew and Mr. Jelliby, a bumbling yet good-hearted member of the Privy Council who is helping him, keeps the story moving quickly, and the faerie Lord Lickerish is an appropriately creepy villain. Grades 4-7. --Charli Osborne
Review
“Bachmann’s prose is beautiful, and his story is swift, strong, and entertaining. Highly recommended. I can’t wait to see what Bachmann writes next.” (CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle) )
“Stefan Bachmann’s sparkling debut is sure to get a lot of well-deserved notice. He breathes fresh life into ancient magic.” (RICK RIORDAN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson and The Olympians )
“Polished and fun to read…Bachmann’s steampunk fairy tale…recalls Dostoevsky, Dickens, and more recent classics, such as J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.…Bachmann leavens the dark goings-on with whimsy…in spectacular and hilarious fashion.…[An] unusually gifted young writer.” (Los Angeles Times )
“Richly realized . . . accomplished … This is a story young fantasy buffs are sure to enjoy.” (The New York Times Book Review )
“Imaginative, highly descriptive writing . . . Thrilling adventure.” (Booklist )
“An absolute treat for readers of any age.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
“Gripping . . . with a wry humor and unusual characters. Fans of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008) and young steampunk enthusiasts will find much here to enjoy.” (School Library Journal )