Oddity by Eli Brown (review)

In an alternate nineteenth-century Unified States, where a failed Louisiana Purchase led to devastating war, twelve-year-old Clover Elkin lives in rural isolation, working alongside her immigrant doctor father. His violent death leaves Clover on her own in a world populated with mercenary bandits, undead vermin, and magical objects called Oddities: a teapot that never runs dry, a gun whose bullets never miss, an ember that never stops burning. On a quest to find an underground society that might protect her, Clover finds allies in a talking rooster, a living doll, and Nessa, a young grifter with a talent for singing and swindling. Together they battle a series of foes, each hungrier for power than the last, and ultimately uncover dangerous secrets about Clover’s family and Clover herself. From a dizzying allotment of intriguing pieces, Brown builds a strongly woven alt-history fantasy adventure that is equal parts violence and resilience, desperation and hope, with occasional doses of the grotesque. Clover makes for an admirable heroine, who builds strength through adversity and friendships through kindness. The richness of the imagined world shines through, a strength reinforced by detailed woodcut-style illustrations and a glossary of notable oddities at novel’s end. It’s a novel best suited to the persistent reader unfazed by challenging prose and a lot of death and destruction, but the prize is a memorable and unique girl-power story.