Oddity

by Sarah Cannon

Overview

Join a tough eleven-year-old as she faces down zombie rabbits, alien mobs, and Puppet Cartels while trying to find her missing twin in Sarah Cannon's imaginative middle-grade debut, Oddity.

Welcome to Oddity, New Mexico, where normal is odd and odd is normal.

Ada Roundtree is no stranger to dodging carnivorous dumpsters, distracting zombie rabbits with marshmallows, and instigating games of alien punkball. But things haven’t been the same since her twin sister, Pearl, won the town’s yearly Sweepstakes and disappeared . . .

Along with her best friend, Raymond, and new-kid-from-Chicago Cayden (whose inability to accept being locked in the gym with live leopards is honestly quite laughable), Ada leads a self-given quest to discover Oddity’s secrets, even evading the invisible Blurmonster terrorizing the outskirts of town.

But one of their missions goes sideways, revealing something hinky with the Sweepstakes . . . and Ada can’t let it go. Because, if the Sweepstakes is bad, then what happened to Pearl?

Praise for Oddity:

“I’ve never read anything like this wonderful book. An infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters have a story they want to share with you, and they’re going by the name Sarah Cannon so as to be inconspicuous. Do yourself a favor and take Oddity from their little monkey fingers.” —Adam Rex, author of The True Meaning of Smekday

"This book grabbed me from page one. Wild, whacky, and yet utterly believable. You will love Ada and ODDITY!" —Sage Blackwood, author of Jinx

"Sarah Cannon is puppet master of this delightfully dark and hilariously creepy debut. Herein, you'll find excitement, adventure, and heart—and I don't just mean the kind you’d be likely to discover, still beating (perhaps even beatboxing), in a jar at the local Oddity grocery." —Heidi Schulz, New York Times Bestselling author of Hook's Revenge

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250179067
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	01/15/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.69(w) x 7.84(h) x 0.87(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Sarah Cannon, author of Oddity, has lived all over the U.S., but right now she calls Indiana home. She has a husband, three kids and a misguided dog. Sarah holds a B.S. in Education. She's a nerdy knitting gardener who drinks a lot of coffee, and eats a lot of raspberries.
She is probably human.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Oddity:

“I’ve never read anything like this wonderful book. An infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters have a story they want to share with you, and they’re going by the name Sarah Cannon so as to be inconspicuous. Do yourself a favor and take Oddity from their little monkey fingers.” —Adam Rex, author of The True Meaning of Smekday

"This book grabbed me from page one. Wild, whacky, and yet utterly believable. You will love Ada and ODDITY!" —Sage Blackwood, author of Jinx

"Sarah Cannon is puppet master of this delightfully dark and hilariously creepy debut. Herein, you'll find excitement, adventure, and heart—and I don't just mean the kind you’d be likely to discover, still beating (perhaps even beatboxing), in a jar at the local Oddity grocery." —Heidi Schulz, New York Times Bestselling author of Hook's Revenge

"Readers will be hooked from the first page. . . . Like Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, Cannon's work takes a sardonic tone, blending humor, darkness, suspense, and the enduring metaphorical battle of good vs. evil. . . . Featuring a diverse cast of characters, this fantasy is chock-full of adventure and agency, making it a must-buy and a must-read for most ­middle graders." —School Library Journal

"Utterly endearing. A charming, enjoyable thrill ride with memorable characters, crazy creatures, and a theme about the importance of family." —Booklist

"This blend of the absurd and the supernatural is perfect for the imaginative young reader who appreciates eerie occurrences and a little wicked puppetry but isn’t quite ready for the button-eyed beldam in Coraline."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

08/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Growing up beset by zombie rabbits, assorted aliens, creepy puppets, unsafe safety drills, and all kinds of unusual threats in the isolated town of Oddity, NM, is not for the faint of heart. But this is the town "where odd is normal." After her twin sister Pearl disappears in the last annual town "sweepstakes," fifth-grader Ada Roundtree marches straight off into mischief, mayhem, and no small amount of intrigue. Together with new kid Cayden and her best friend Raymond, Ada sets out to uncover the town's mysteries and find her sister. The playful language keeps pace with the madcap zaniness of the setting ("Daddy doesn't go all the way up Havasu Hill. And when you're only halfway up, you're neither up nor down—you're at Oddity Middle School."). Crammed full of imaginative and threatening obstacles and opportunities, readers will be hooked from the first page. Despite the fantastical elements, the cast is a realistic representation of an inclusive community: the protagonist is African American, her right-hand man is Latino, and there is a bevy of empowered female characters including a formidable aunt who uses a wheelchair, lesbian parents, and Ada's mom, who deals with depression. Like Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, Cannon's work takes a sardonic tone, blending humor, darkness, suspense, and the enduring metaphorical battle of good vs. evil. The overall picture is chillingly creepy but cut with the bright tang of capable kids taking action. VERDICT Featuring a diverse cast of characters, this fantasy is chock-full of adventure and agency, making it a must-buy and a must-read for most middle graders.—Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison

School Library Journal