The book begins, I was raised in a gaunt house with a garden my earliest recollections are of floating lights in the apple trees. But that's a personal preference it's a reason I wouldn't say this is my favorite book but it's also the reason why it's one of the best books of the year. The bad is that I don't particularly like the style of books written during that time period. This is both good and bad the good is that it shows just how brilliant Anderson is, because he pulls it off flawlessly. The book reads as if it was written in the 18th century. Why fantasy? The fact that Octavian and his mother are royalty in exile that there is a bit of the fantastic to their lush life but that there is something horrible lurking in the corners. I began with absolutely no spoilers, and for a while thought I was reading Gothic fantasy after a few chapters I realized it was historical fiction set during the Revolutionary War, and that it was realistic fiction. The Good: I will try to minimize the spoilers below, but if you dislike any type of spoilers, stop reading. There is a forbidden room, and once Octavian enters and learns of his true place in the world, he can never return to innocence. He is educated and dressed in silks but something odd is going on and he's not sure what it is. But here's my go at it: Octavian is raised in an odd house where only he and his mother, a princess in exile, have names. The Plot: I don't want to give too much away but then again, considering this won the National Book Award and got a ton of publicity, chances are you know all the major plot points.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T.

The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson