With Halloween quickly approaching, there is no better feeling than curling up with a creepy page-turner. “The Museum of Extraordinary Things” by Alice Hoffman has horror, drama, and history which makes it a definite must-read this October.

Taking place in 1911 Manhattan, Coralie is an eighteen-year-old girl who has lived under her father’s strict reign for her whole life. She has known no friends or family aside from the members of her father’s freak show, The Museum of Extraordinary Things. With no living mother, Coralie relies on her housekeeper for guidance.

Coralie was born with a slight deformity—her fingers are webbed together. After turning twelve, her father coerced her to become the museum’s “human mermaid.” Day after day, Coralie practiced rigorously by swimming in the treacherous currents of nearby rivers.

In the same time period, an ex-detective-turned-photographer by the name of Eddie, witnesses the terrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. A man whose daughter went missing in the fire approaches him to beg for his help in finding her body, which had never been found. Eddie no longer takes detective cases, but makes an exception for this man, for reasons even he is unsure of. 

In an intricately woven web of events and character relationships, Eddie and Coralie find each other while also uncovering the mysterious disappearance of the factory worker. It seems as if everyone has something to hide.

The novel’s strong points were the characters, settings, and descriptions. Strangely enough, I felt most connected to Coralie’s housekeeper, Maureen. I felt she was the most realistic character and had so much going for her. Coralie’s father, Professor Sardie, was a mad and disturbed man. The descriptions of his slow descent into madness were horrifying and well done.

The mystery element in “The Museum of Extraordinary Things” was a great addition to the story. While seemingly unrelated at first, Hoffman slowly leaks clues throughout to help the reader understand that there is more than meets the eye.

From the nearly untouched forests to the industrial sections of

Manhattan, Hoffman did a beautiful job describing the book’s scenery. The book flowed chronologically, and the historical events seemed thoroughly researched.

The weaker points of the novel were how long it took for the plot to start moving and the love interest between Coralie and Eddie. It was not until the halfway point of the book that things started to get more interesting. I enjoyed reading about the characters’ feelings and understanding their lives, but not enough was happening to keep the pages turning.

While sweet, I felt the relationship between Eddie and Coralie grew too fast. There was not enough interaction between the two for me to feel like their relationship and feelings were true.

Overall, Hoffman did a great job of setting up an interesting story with solid characters. The creepy, twisted plot of the mad professor’s freak show kept me hooked, and the mystery of the missing girl was a great touch. I look forward to reading more by Hoffman because of her beautiful prose—I could picture everything as if I was watching it happen right in front of me.