GEARcon 2012

2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults ALA/YASLA

"... McQuerry offers a brooding northwest setting touched by steampunk elements to tell a story that is in equal parts inventive fantasy, light romance, and thrilling adventure. Underneath it all runs the current of Lena’s questionable lineage, and what she must do to live with the answers. With a backdrop as strong as its heroine, this one is a page-turner. "
Booklist Starred Review
http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Peculiars-Maureen-Doyle-McQuerry/pid=5371997
 
"The ambiguity surrounding the existence of Peculiars and the origin of their physical deformities—magic? genetics?—is thought-provoking....richly atmospheric read".
Kirkus
 
"Readers graduating from the stories of C.S. Lewis and Edward Eager will be right at home—and cat lovers will adore Jimson’s employer’s pet, Mrs. Mumbles. ..extensive world-building. .."
Publisher's Weekly
 
"Her poetry shines through her prose, as she sets the stage for her tale, and her scholarship shows through her researching of time, imagination of place, and in her characterizations. Each steady word and phrase creates a perfect foundation for the next."
Finding Wonderland http://writingya.blogspot.com/