I’d heard good things about Maximilian Fly by Angie Sage, but I didn’t expect that it would be my kind of book. It has a person-sized cockroach on the cover after all. Eww.

But I’ve been proved wrong. Maximillian (who is actually a person with cockroach DNA) is a gentle and charming character, and I highly recommend his story to fans of dystopian fiction, unusual narrators, and suspenseful fantasies.

Maximillian Fly is the story of how Maximillian sets out to prove to you and me (the reader) that he’s a good creature by rescuing two children who are being chased by government enforcers. It takes place in the city of Hope, which is trapped under a dome to protect its citizens from the contagion outside and which is run by an oppressive government.

When Maximillian decides to hide the children, his actions have far-reaching consequences for his own quiet life and for all of the people (and roaches) of Hope. After I got over my initial reaction to Maximillian’s carapace, I couldn’t put the book down.