The Madman's Daughter

“Dead flesh and sharpened scalpels didn't bother me. I was my father's daughter, after all. My nightmares were made of darker things.”

5 STARS

I...this book blew me away. Atmospheric, engaging, and beautifully written, I fell in love with Shepherd's work. I have a special place in my collection among all my YA books for classic novels and The Island of Dr. Moreau is most definitely one of my most treasured and to find it with a new spin on it from Juliet's perspective was simply breathtaking. Juliet was a strong protagonist with an interesting backstory that I could connect with and understand. I liked that in a time of seeking perfection, whether in rouged cheeks, cinched waists, or the perfect husband and the etiquette to reach him, Juliet established herself as none of those things. She was dark, capable, and just a little mad. The characters of this book were diverse and very interesting to read about. As I said, Juliet was a dependable lead, but she was not the only interest in the story. Though I despise love triangles, I found myself somewhat engaging with this one. Though I never cared for Edward, I was intrigued by his backstory, and then his lack of one. I was most definitely not expecting the ending with him and his origin story or why Juliet's father wanted them to pair together. Montgomery was strong, but nowhere near the stable, dependable 'option' of the triangle. He was secretive, most definitely of questionable morals, but won my heart even if it was darkened some. I liked that Shepherd including internal conflict on his part of dividing duty and ethics and what he could do, who to turn to, with everyone around him dead, dying, or inhuman. I loved all of his character arc EXCEPT FOR THE LAST DAMN CHAPTER WHICH BROKE ME INTO A THOUSAND PIECES ALL BECAUSE OF DR. MOREAU'S STUPID EXPERIMENTS AND ISLAND. Speaking of, that man needs a separate tier of hell to roast on. I liked that, having read the original story, there were definite similarities, Shepherd did create her own original character to base the story around. Dr. Moreau was dark, unyielding, imperious, and insane on any multitude of levels. But, in his way, he had his own logic, especially concerning Juliet's surgery, only he perverted his knowledge and was consumed by it and its tied madness. I almost wish I could see it from his perspective with the lens of Shepherd's writing, but I suppose I'll make do with what is given, which was absolutely stunning in it of itself. The writing of this novel was beyond beautiful. I could picture myself to every crisp detail both in London, on the ship, and on the terrifying island. I loved how much mystery was wound through every chapter: why does Juliet need to take injections? What is Montgomery hiding? Who really is Edward Prince? Why do they need guns to travel the short distance through the jungle? What's out there?The entire novel was captivating and enthralling, the only reason I put it down was because I would fail my classes if I didn't get to work on the assignments. I think the only issue I had with this book was the pacing. At times I fell, just a bit, out of the story, especially on the ship, when I got distracted by the unchanging events, but I would get sucked right back in within no time, especially once the island was reached and all of the islanders came into question. Then the only issue was me falling out because I was wondering what I would do in these people's position: would I fight my creator who assumed a godlike power over me? Or would I fall in line to keep my humanity without fear of regressing? It truly was an interesting dilemma that gripped me tight throughout the entire book. All in all, this story was compelling, I loved the science embedded within it, and the moral and ethical questions it raised on the darker side of science. When is it time to stop? When is it too far? The Madman's Daughter is one of the most interesting YA novels I've read and definitely earned the right to be one of my 2015 favorites. Looking forward to the next books!