Monday, October 8, 2012

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray


Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Reviewed by: Cassie
The Fairies Say: Creeptastic with a flair of class!

Summary (from BN.com)
Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City-and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult-also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders come to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer-if he doesn't catch her first.

With a whopping six-hundred pages, The Diviners was a book I was particularly dreading to read. I thought it was going to be one of those books an author filled pages just to... fill pages. And six hundred pages of that? I mean, how could a simple murder mystery conjure that? Well folkies, it was a page-turner. All six-hundred pages of it.

Lemme ask a few questions to see if you may like this: Are you intrigued by the flapper time period? Do you like the thrill of a murder-mystery? Do you like supernatural? Do you like heart-pounding, skin-crawling adventure? Do you like a cute, funny, and sassy heroine? Do you have some spare time on your hands? Well then, this book is for you. And I highly recommend reading it in low-lighting, preferably on Halloween or a particularly creepy night. Because it's creepy. And it's a wonderful creepy.

The book starts out with Evie being scolded by her no-fun parents after her adventure at a party. (Well, it starts out with a little prologue but let's skip that) She decided things weren't quite as snazzy as she would have liked, and so she broke out her 'mystical powers'. And found out an ugly secret about the town's golden boy. She outs him, rather drunkenly, and ends up dunked in the fountain, courtesy of her friends. She's the town pariah- she's "too much" for this small town life- and she's over-joyous to get outta there! Evie is an extremely entertaining POV- I am just putting it out there. She may be slightly crazy in her ways, but she makes the story come alive.

There are a LOT of characters in The Diviners. It jumps from one person to the next, and it's a bit confusing at first. But, of course, somehow all of these people are connected and will eventually meet each other.

Theta- I found her the most interesting. She is one of Ziegfield's girls, has an unknown past, and is beautiful with her black hair and risque fashion. Evie immediately befriends her.
Mabel- Boring and conservative, this is Evie's pen-pal and close friend. She's in love with Evie's uncle's assistant (Jericho) and is in the shadow of her parents. She also is seen as molded to their views. But at the end, a little spark appears. And she gets a whole lot more interesting.
Jericho- the one and only. Very tall, very blonde, and very.. boring. According to Evie. She doesn't see what's got Mabel "all goofy for him". However, as with all the characters, there's something hidden underneath his exterior...
Sam- Ah, Sam Lloyd, the rakish pickpocket. Oh, he is yummy. And he also brings fun wherever he goes. And he also has got something hidden...
Memphis- I didn't really connect with him, but he's a hopeful poet/writer who dreams of a better future. And, of course, he's got special stuff too.
Then there are all the other side characters I'm too lazy to deal with and the villain. The villain is WICKED. He is totally awesome, mind you, in a very villain-y way. No way in heck would I want to see him. Ever. At all. He's totally insane and creepy and disgusting. But a very, very good villain.

All in all, a delightful story. Was it worth the six hundred or so pages? For the most part, yes! Will I continue the series? If it's not another six-hundred pages, yes! What was your face while reading it?


 and of course 
So it's good.

If you'd like to comment we will most definitely reply and cyber-hug you, and if you subscribed to/followed us... We would love you forever and ever and ever. Because no one has yet.
And that makes us sad :(

Au revoir! Cassie

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