Review: Something Strange & Deadly by Susan Dennard - Farah

Title: Something Strange & Deadly (Something Strange & Deadly #1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Publication date: July 24, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre(s): Young Adult (Sci-Fi, Zombies)

Challenges: Dystopian, Debut

Source: Edelweiss 
Format: eARC

Pages: 400

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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.

Something strange & deadly is happening in Philadelphia. The dead are rising. The main protagonist, Eleanor Fitt, is only excited about getting her brother back. One day, while she goes to the train station to pick him up, he's late. Eleanor waits, and then an attack from the dead happens, and a zombie actually gives a letter to Eleanor, and leaves. The idea till now was very interesting, because when Eleanor see's the letter, it's from her very own brother, Elijah. It was cool to try to figure out where Elijah was right now, and see how Eleanor was going to find out. While Eleanor is trying to find out where her brother is, her mother is only worried about marrying off Eleanor to a rich family. The Fitts were one of the "rich", but after Eleanor's father died, they started facing difficulties. 

The story so far sounded interesting, but I am sorry to say that the flow of the book was something I really did not enjoy. I felt like everything went by too slow, and there were too many unnecessary parts that shouldn't have been there. Something Strange & Deadly wasn't one of those book that had me turning pages, but I actually felt like I never wanted to read. Eleanor, the main protagonist, is an interesting character. She's strong willed, and determined to find her missing brother. Her mother annoyed me because she was too obsessive about looking for a rich man, it started to sound ridiculous. Eleanor found the Spirit-Hunters, a group of people that know how to find or kill the dead. There was Daniel, the very rude and sometimes annoying person, and there was Joseph, the very polite one whom I liked more. Despite Daniel's attitude towards Eleanor, she started liking him. That sounded very unrealistic, because I can't say much about his character for Eleanor to actually start liking him. Along with that, the fighting was confusing for me. Sometimes I felt like it was too detailed, I found myself skimming through the words. As for Elijah, I didn't know what to feel towards him because he was already missing from the beginning of the book, but considering how much Eleanor loves him, I'd assume he was a good brother to her.

Overall, I'm sorry to say that Something Strange & Deadly was not the book for me. Part of it was because of the historical details, that I really do not like reading, and the other part was how the story was constructed. This is obviously my personal opinion, and not everyones. I know that many people did enjoy this book, and many did not enjoy it, like me. Even though I might have been one of those who didn't enjoy it, you might be one of those who do. So give Something Strange & Deadly a try!

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