The Friend of the Family

A girl who escapes from a carnival sideshow discovers her mysterious purpose in this novel about family, sacrifice, and love by Dean Koontz. Alida is displayed as a human oddity in the Museum of the Strange, traveling Depression-era America across carnival midways and speakeasies. Her life as the museum's main attraction is exploited and lonely until two strangers, Franklin and Loretta Fairchild, rescue her. The Fairchilds recognize Alida as a gifted and unusually well-read girl who needs love and family. With them and their three imaginative children, Alida finds acceptance and belonging. However, she remains aware of her fundamental difference from others. Her vivid and unsettling dreams trouble her—she fears they are warnings that the Fairchilds themselves may be in danger from the world around them. Determined to protect those she loves, Alida becomes empowered with a purpose to confront evil and safeguard her adopted family.