Despite Clover’s victory over the destructive Seamstress, war continues to rage between the fledgling Unified States and Napoléon Bonaparte. Clover and Nessa, former snake-oil salesgirl, join the Women’s Service League expecting to dole out soup and socks to invalids and orphans. Instead, under the direction of the wealthy and mysterious Miss Yamada, they’re tasked with rooting out the last of the pestilential Vermin—vicious creatures animated by magic, such as squirrel skins stuffed with nails, who have been terrorizing the countryside. But when the group is attacked by a new kind of monster—a sharp-toothed harehound with bloodshot eyes—they discover a much greater threat lurks: the grotesque Underking and his army of twisted creatures. With the help of a Paper-Doll Witch, an elegantly dressed skeleton, a girl bearing a Quilt with threatening properties, and Susanna the bad-tempered Doll, Clover and Nessa must defeat the Underking before he conquers the whole land. This follow-up to Oddity is a wildly imaginative and engrossing dark fantasy set in an alternate American past.
- Books
- Middle Grade Fiction & Indies
- Middle Grade Fiction
- Mooncussers (Oddity, Book 2)
Mooncussers (Oddity, Book 2)
Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
10+
Release Date
July 01, 2025
ISBN
978-1536208528
Buy This Book
With the help of magical Oddities, like a Pistol that never misses, Clover and her friends face a new danger, the ravenous Underking, in this riveting sequel to Oddity.
Editor review
1 review
Quirky Alternate History
(Updated: June 22, 2026)
Overall rating
5.0
Plot
5.0
Characters
5.0
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
Mooncussers, (Oddity, Book 2) has an eye-catching title that just begs for you to choose it as your next read, but you definitely need to read Book 1 first to understand the world and the plot continuation of this alternate historical fiction.
Clover Elkin and her friend Nessa tried to settle down in quiet Salamander Lake after the events of book one. However, President Auburn wants Clover on the frontline of his war with Louisiana, or to be in jail. Miss Yamada saves her from that choice by taking custody of them both and setting off to hunt the vermin her mother had created using the lifesaving pestle to make living thread. She has collected other children of consequence who have odd entanglements after being saved by the pestle. Penelope can make duplicates of herself, and Hazel has a quilt that can store and collect items. They soon discover that the vermin are the least of their troubles because one piece of the living thread kept Willit Rummage alive after eating deadly mushrooms, and now he is the Underking with a horrifying army on the verge of taking over the world, and no one is the wiser.
With quirky magic and a world almost like our own, it is a fascinating read that keeps your interest from start to finish. The events proceed at a nice pace and resolve satisfactorily while leaving the world wide open for more books to continue the adventures. This story contains the right mix of quirky, cantankerous, and wonderous magical items and events to be fascinating. If Mark Twain lived in modern times and wrote fantasy, it would feel a lot like this book.
Clover Elkin and her friend Nessa tried to settle down in quiet Salamander Lake after the events of book one. However, President Auburn wants Clover on the frontline of his war with Louisiana, or to be in jail. Miss Yamada saves her from that choice by taking custody of them both and setting off to hunt the vermin her mother had created using the lifesaving pestle to make living thread. She has collected other children of consequence who have odd entanglements after being saved by the pestle. Penelope can make duplicates of herself, and Hazel has a quilt that can store and collect items. They soon discover that the vermin are the least of their troubles because one piece of the living thread kept Willit Rummage alive after eating deadly mushrooms, and now he is the Underking with a horrifying army on the verge of taking over the world, and no one is the wiser.
With quirky magic and a world almost like our own, it is a fascinating read that keeps your interest from start to finish. The events proceed at a nice pace and resolve satisfactorily while leaving the world wide open for more books to continue the adventures. This story contains the right mix of quirky, cantankerous, and wonderous magical items and events to be fascinating. If Mark Twain lived in modern times and wrote fantasy, it would feel a lot like this book.
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