The Odds

by Lindsay Puckett (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From the author that gave us THE GLASS WITCH comes a whimsical exploration of disability that is A Snicker of Magic meets The Sixth Sense.

If you have found this book, then you are probably a lover of the dark and twisty. You did pull this book from a cold dead corpse, after all.

This is the story of Begonia, who was abandoned at a retirement home when she was a baby. You might think that's the worst thing that could happen to someone, but for Bug, the worst is yet to come.

You see, Swamp Root Manor isn't just any old house. It's alive, it's haunted, and everyone in it is...a little bit Odd. Everyone except Begonia. And while she's waiting for her Oddity to arrive, the manor is running out of money, thanks in no small part to all of Bug's hospital bills.

But Begonia refuses to let Swamp Root close. If she could just tap into her Oddity, she could use its power to save the manor and all fifty-two of her grandparents. But she is only days away from her 11th birthday and if she doesn't get it by then, it will never come.

She will be removed from her home and sent to the normal world.

Her memory will be wiped.

And her family will be gone.

So, Bug has to do the unthinkable... join forces with the most annoying boy in the world to track down their Oddities. Together they battle humans, ghosts, their own self-doubt, and sometimes even each other in order to save the only family she's ever known.

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$17.99

Kirkus

A rollicking, spooky adventure with a big heart.


Publishers Weekly

In a world divided between magically gifted Oddities and ordinary Never Odds, a 10-year-old desperately attempts to activate her Oddity ahead of her birthday in this bustling ghost story from Puckett (The Glass Witch). If Begonia Hollowmoor, who experiences intense migraines, fails to do so, she'll be "Odbliterated"--have her memory wiped--before being placed in an orphanage for Never Odds. Begonia stands to lose everything she's ever known, including her 58 pseudo-grandparents--the elderly Odds who live at nursing home Swamp Root Manor, where she was abandoned as a baby. But other events threaten life as Begonia knows it: Swamp Root Manor is in deep financial distress, and an unknown entity has been haunting the estate, resulting in some inhabitants falling into a comatose state. Determined to save her home, Begonia reluctantly teams up with Bass, a resident's 10-year-old grandson, who's also seeking to uncover his power. Employing a sardonic tone that's elevated by a fourth wall-breaking omniscient narrator, Puckett addresses themes of disability, friendship, and mischief. Begonia's experience managing chronic pain is thoughtfully rendered and features heavily throughout, adding a layer of realism to this fast-paced supernatural adventure. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 8-12. Agent: Samantha Fabien, Root Literary. (Sept.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Lindsay Puckett
Lindsay lives in a tiny apartment in Ohio where there are too many books, just the right amount of pet hair, and never enough house plants. Or peanut butter. She has a Bachelor's in psychology and enjoys creating videos for her YouTube channel where she shares her publication journey and helps other writers along their own. YouTube: Lindsay PuckettInstagram: lindsayjmpTwitter: puckett_lindsay
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781338803815
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication date
September 19, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV013090 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Alternative Family
Library of Congress categories
Magic
Ghosts
Ghost stories
Paranormal fiction
Foundlings
Haunted houses
Nursing homes

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