The Iron Thorn
By Caitlin Kittredge
$12.23
512 pages
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
February 22, 2011
Review copy borrowed from the library.

Plot Summary: 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.

The Review:

I picked this book up because a good old-fashioned Lovecraftian homage from one of the most talented female fantasy writers, Caitlin Kittredge, seemed like it would deliver a fantastic tale, and boy, did it ever. The protagonist, Aoife, is a sixteen year-old girl with a mother in an asylum and a brother who succumbed to the same insanity she is fated to inherit — a cruel predicament for such a bright, spunky young lady. With her friend, Cal, she sets out to find a way to prevent succumbing to the necro-virus that spreads the insanity disease by finding a witch’s alphabet, but along the way she meets a worse foe than she could have imagined, and he wants the same thing.

I took exception to this novel, because the world building was magnificent and the steampunk overtones deliciously delightful. The book has a distinctly British feel despite being set in early twentieth century Boston, but it’s a fantastically well-developed dystopian YA novel with shaes of a Victorian mystery mixed with China Mieville.

It’s a perfect recommendation for teens who want their fantasy dark and brooding but exciting and with no vampires anywhere in sight. For teens tired of the Twilight imitations in the YA section, The Iron Thorn will be a welcome addition to their libraries. I imagine there will be sequels, because while there’s some resolution, there are many loose ends that need tying up.

Happy Reading!