Monday, July 8, 2013

Book Review: The Madman's Daughter, by Megan Shepherd @megan_shepherd

The Madman's Daughter hooked me with its non-stop plotting and the very sinister vibe.

I've read The Island of Dr. Moreau, but it's been many years ago. The Madman's Daughter is a story about Juliet Moreau, Dr. Moreau's daughter. When the book opens, Juliet is almost destitute, after her father disappeared in disgrace and her mother died of consumption. No one will help her, because of the reputation her father left.

Juliet discovers her father is still alive and living on an island after she runs into his assistant, Montgomery, who was Juliet's childhood friend. Montgomery is now her father's assistant. She insists that Montgomery take her to her father's island, since she has nothing in England. Much against his best wishes, Montgomery agrees.

While on the very long, treacherous voyage, they pick up a man adrift and almost dead in a life boat. The man's name is Edward, and they nurse him back to health and he gets off the ship with Juliet and Montgomery at Dr. Moreau's island.

So there's a bit of a romantic competition between Montgomery and Edward for Juliet's attention. But this is not a romance, and this aspect just adds to the intrigue without overpowering the thrilling aspects of The Madman's Daughter.

The way the macabre elements of The Madman's Daughter are slowly revealed just keeps the reader gasping;. Even being familiar with the premise of the story, I still loved the way Shepherd weaves us through the revelations, little by little. And there are plenty of surprises along the way.

The ending was so perfect. I did suspect what was going to happen, but not long before it actually happened. I don't really want to go into the details too much about the plot. Yes, Dr. Moreau is mad -- but you probably knew that.

I'm ready to recommend The Madman's Daughter to a bunch of my teen readers as soon as school starts. It has just the right amount of action, adventure, and gore to appeal to the masses.

Published by Balzer + Bray, January 29, 2013
Copy obtained from the library
420 pages

Rating: 5/5





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9 comments:

  1. I loved the gothic feel of this book as well as the ending. So, why is there a second book in this series? Can't we just leave it like it is? Very cool macabre elements, too!

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  2. I've heard a lot of good things about this book and the covers are beautiful! Can't wait to pick this one up. Great review:)
    -Danna

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  3. I didn't read the review because I plan to read this one in the coming months and didn't want to be influenced in any way, BUT I did scroll down to check out your rating. I'm thrilled to see that you loved it! That gives me high hopes that I will enjoy it as well.

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  4. This sounds so good! I've had it on my TBR list for awhile, so I'm glad to read that you enjoyed it! And maybe I can get to it soon. I wonder if I reading The Island of Dr. Moreau would help me though? I didn't realize it was sort of a sequel, I thought it was more like a reworking of the original story.

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  5. I've had this one on my list for a while, I'll have to move it up some now. Great review.

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  6. I put this one on my TBR before it was released...now I REALLY want to read it! ;) I didn't realize the connection to Dr. Moreau but that makes me even more curious to read it. Thanks for a fantastic review, Annette.

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  7. I had been curious about this, and had ordered it for my library, but I didn't get a chance to read it ..... yet. After reading your review, I'm going to pick it up! :)

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  8. I'm about halfway finished with the audiobook of The Madman's Daughter and duh! I didn't even figure out the , connection with the HG Wells book. Now I want to read it. I noticed when I was grabbing the title from Goodreads that there is a sequel either coming or already published. So be sure to check for it. Do you think this book has Printz potential?

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    1. Yes. Several people have mentioned that they don't know what the sequel is going to be, since this book is pretty tied up. I will definitely check it out. Printz potential, maybe, but there are other books I would choose first (if I was doing the choosing...)

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