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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the gifted ebook to read and review.
When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur is a contemporary southern gothic that follows four teens in Georgia. Kaur uses gothic elements to bring forth social commentary on classism, racism, and gentrification. The setting of Carrion and Lake Clearwater is haunting and immersive. She brings to life the classic song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band. Our main characters are diverse and come together from different backgrounds. They are flawed and make mistakes, if you count making a deal with the devil a mistake, but you are rooting for them the whole time. When Devils Sing is great for fans of Mexican Gothic.
When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur is a contemporary southern gothic that follows four teens in Georgia. Kaur uses gothic elements to bring forth social commentary on classism, racism, and gentrification. The setting of Carrion and Lake Clearwater is haunting and immersive. She brings to life the classic song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band. Our main characters are diverse and come together from different backgrounds. They are flawed and make mistakes, if you count making a deal with the devil a mistake, but you are rooting for them the whole time. When Devils Sing is great for fans of Mexican Gothic.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This was such an impressive debut! Set in rural Georgia, When Devils Sing is a layered and slow, Southern Gothic novel that follows 4 teens as they are drawn into in an investigation over a missing boy that takes them places they did not expect.
This is a slow moving story and at times it feels like it, but mostly it doesn’t because of the way that it flips through character perspective. For the majority of the book the 4 teens know of each other because it’s a small town, but their stories don’t really crossing over. Because of that, I feel like the story took some time to get into because this chapters felt short and we jump from character to character, so trying to keep the details of each of them straight was challenging. But as the plot starts ramping up and especially once they united in their request to find the missing boy, it became hard to put the book down.
I thought the ways that racism and classism and the reality of the American Dream were explored in this was really interesting. And I think this leaned into horror a lot more than I expected out of a YA novel. Overall, I thought it was very good, and I highly recommend!
This was such an impressive debut! Set in rural Georgia, When Devils Sing is a layered and slow, Southern Gothic novel that follows 4 teens as they are drawn into in an investigation over a missing boy that takes them places they did not expect.
This is a slow moving story and at times it feels like it, but mostly it doesn’t because of the way that it flips through character perspective. For the majority of the book the 4 teens know of each other because it’s a small town, but their stories don’t really crossing over. Because of that, I feel like the story took some time to get into because this chapters felt short and we jump from character to character, so trying to keep the details of each of them straight was challenging. But as the plot starts ramping up and especially once they united in their request to find the missing boy, it became hard to put the book down.
I thought the ways that racism and classism and the reality of the American Dream were explored in this was really interesting. And I think this leaned into horror a lot more than I expected out of a YA novel. Overall, I thought it was very good, and I highly recommend!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Suicide, Kidnapping
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
Ok hear me this was a great debut but I didn't feel attached to any of the characters.. I feel like they didn't get a chance to fully form and just seemed like 1D. Outside of that I loved the mythology and while I still have several questions , like how did the other devils become trapped I also loved the writing, very atmospheric. Side note I'm always on the hunt for books that remind me of movies and this one gives me strong Fear Street Trilogy vibes
mysterious
medium-paced