Release Date: March 30th, 2021 

Genre(s): Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Publisher: Walker Books US 

Pages: 368

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Walker Books US and YA Books Central for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis

Oddity is set in nineteenth-century America where ordinary everyday objects have special powers. It follows Clover, a young girl with an unknown oddity that her father left behind. Thrown into a journey on her own, Clover must find the truth about this oddity – and protect it at all costs.  

Review

Admittedly, it’s been quite some time since I last read a middle grade novel! And after reading Oddity, I’d definitely like to return to reading them more regularly again. I enjoyed the alternative 1800’s setting combined with magical elements and overall liked the story and Clover’s journey. 

This book also comes with several illustrations, and I really loved the pictures throughout. The art style really meshed with the author’s writing style along with the book’s setting. 

In particular, I found the concept of oddities really interesting. Throughout the story, we learn more about them and what some of their abilities are. We also get to see the people that want them and why which results in so many more obstacles for Clover along her journey. 

However, I didn’t always feel completely immersed throughout Oddity, and I think that had a lot to do with the way the story didn’t break up after significant events. I think certain scenes that would have been best as end-of-chapter material were often lodged in the middle of them with the same tone and diction as less significant events, so more startling scenes didn’t catch my attention as much as they could have. 

Regardless, Oddity was a really cool historical fantasy book and I enjoyed the world as well as following Clover’s journey. I’d recommend this book to young readers looking for adventure and a touch of magic in their stories.

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