YA Book Review: The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

© February 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Goodreads description:

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day. Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

My Thoughts...

I checked this book out from the library in APRIL and I have no idea what kept me from reading it until July! This was my first venture into the realms of steampunk and I have to say that I was not at all disappointed! Caitlin Kittredge's world-building is fabulous! The city of Lovecraft and the surrounding world is created in such a way as to send you there and make you want to stay.

When we meet Aoife (pronounced Ee-fah, in case you were curious), she is an Uptown girl enrolled in the School of Machines (one of the FEW girls enrolled there) waiting to go mad.  However, notes from her estranged brother convince her to escape school and Uptown and head for her father's mansion in Arkham to find and help her brother. What she discovers there is crazy beyond her wildest dreams.

I loved the characters in this book. Aoife was a character that I really, truly enjoyed reading about.  She was..different.  She has this chip on her shoulder about the madness that is a part of her family and the looming eventuality that it will probably affect her as well. But...she's also got a bit of an attitude.  She's cautious but she's not afraid to pursue the things that are important to her.

The whole world that Kittredge has created is really spectacular.  There is a little bit of everything for everyone! Seriously! It took me a little bit to get into the language with all the crazy inventions and such (welcome to steampunk, I suppose, lol), but once the plot gets going you can't put the book down! Don't let its size/length stop you from picking this one up. It's a fabulous read.