The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
- Method of Obtaining: My copy was provided by the publisher.
- Published by: Balzer + Bray
- Release Date: 01.29.2013
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In the darkest places, even love is deadly.
Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.
Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it’s too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.
Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.
I also recommend:
- Railsea by China Mieville
- The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan
I have a weakness for classics remade by a modern author. I have thoroughly loved reading books that take their inspiration from great stories and authors, and The Madman’s Daughter does this beautifully by taking H.G. Wells’s story The Island of Dr. Moreau, and putting a new, fresh spin on it. At times gruesome, other times horrifying, and sometimes spine-chillingly terrifying, Shepherd manages to still capture the attention of this skittish reader and I found myself reading until nearly 5am just to figure out what happens.
While I’ve had some experience with Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau has never been high on my list to read. It is now. And it is for that reason (and I’m sure many others have now put the book on their to-read radar) that I am grateful to re-explored classics. I finished reading The Madman’s Daughter and I felt compelled to pick up the next book. I had to have it – now. Thankfully, I managed to get my hands on an advanced copy or… seriously, there’s no telling what would have happened.
I had seen some buzz about The Madman’s Daughter late last year and it had always been my intention to check it out but what made me ultimately take the leap is the gorgeous cover. The book was sitting on the shelf at my library and I had to read it now. I picked it up, brought it home, and cracked it open without regard for my scheduled readings. I wasn’t disappointed.
The Madman’s Daughter is the story of a girl who was once the daughter of a prominent surgeon but now struggles to make ends meet after her father was labeled a madman. She believes him dead – and now, she’s on her own as her mother has also passed away. She struggles with what you can imagine young girls struggle with: the unwanted attentions of older men, the decision of how to make a life for herself, and the curiosity and desire to know what exactly was going on under her own childhood roof. Then, one day she stumbles into an old friend/servant and her life changes. But does it change for the better?
Imagine taking a leap of faith and sailing to an unknown island in the company of someone that you haven’t seen in years. Imagine being completely surrounded by lies and half-truths and trying to figure out just what it all means. That’s what was captured in The Madman’s Daughter and why it was so riveting to me. But that’s not to say that it was perfect. I felt as if the ending stretched a little too much. That’s saying something when talking about science fiction, but it still has to remain somewhat believable. I found myself wincing a bit, but willing myself to just accept it because I was having too much fun to think too hard about the faults of what I was reading. And, ultimately, that’s the most important thing: to create a story that even the things that normally bug readers can’t detract from.
I highly recommend The Madman’s Daughter to those who are looking to veer away from the zombie apocalypse novel-types and are looking for something a bit different with the same sort of feel. I think this book would appeal to a wide range of readers and, if nothing else, will catapult a new generation of kids into reading one of the greats: H.G. Wells.
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