The Madman's Daughter
by Megan Shepherd
by Megan Shepherd
My Rating: ★★★
"The basement hallways in King's College of Medical Research were dark, even in the daytime."
My Review: This book reads like a Frankenstein movie. The idea behind a mad scientist who does experiments that are God-like in nature and therefore no one seems to understand always makes for a good movie, and a great book, if you know how to tell the story. Megan Shepherd knows how to tell a story. Her use of description really put me on the island with Juliet and her crazy ass father. As usual with Young Adult novels the element of romance and love loss is riddled throughout this book. I could have done without the triangle between Juliet choosing Montgomery and Edward. I think the story would not have suffered in any way without it nor did it add any more element of danger and suspense with it.
When a story has a mad scientist turning animals into humans who needs a love story right? It's supposed to be based on H.G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau which I must admit I have never read. Although, after reading this I'm definitely adding it to my Classic TBR list.
I think this book is the first in a planned trilogy. If so I can see how the second book would go. But if this were it then the ending was satisfying either way. I sure do hate a happy ending so allow me to break some news to you, this one does NOT have a happy ending by any stretch of the imagination. Probably because happy endings are also not exactly part in parcel to the make-up of a Young Adult novel. Nor should it be. I'm not sure why those younger than myself read YA novels but I know I don't read them expecting to find mushy romance with a little "...and they lived happily ever after" at the end.
Did you read this book? What did you think of it?
Summary: 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.
To learn more about Megan Shepherd visit her personal website.
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