The Pox Party

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
M. T. Anderson
Candlewick Press, 2006. 351 pgs. Young Adult

He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the best of classical educations. Raised by a mysterious group of rational philosophers known only by numbers, the boy and his mother – a princess in exile from a faraway land – are the only people in their household assigned names. As the boy’s regal mother, Cassiopeia, entertains the house scholars with her beauty and wit, young Octavian begins to question the purpose behind his guardians’ fanatical studies. Only after he dares to open a forbidden door does he learn the hideous nature of their experiments – and his own chilling role in them.

Reading this description, it almost sounds like this book is a fantasy, but it's not at all. It's historical fiction set during the American Revolution. I listened to this on audio cd, and while I thought the narrator did a very good job, I didn't enjoy the book itself very much. It seemed a bit aimless and the characters, who usually compensate for an aimless plot, weren't very compelling. But this book has received many good reviews from people who found it twisted and dark, yet meaningful. I think if you're a fan of fiction based during the American Revolution then you will enjoy this book.

BHG