A review by snipinfool
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Nightmares that arose from forests all over the world were kept in check by age-old defenders, called Luminaries. Within these forests, fourteen spirits lived and slept. The monsters created from their dreams were exterminated each night so the rest of the world could live in peace. In the US, Hemlock Falls was the town nearest the forest where the spirit was found. Hemlock Falls was hidden from maps, landlines did not work there, cell phone service was sketchy, and the overall feel was different from that over the normal world. Luminaries were born into a house named after a day of the week. Each house had specific duties within the society. Strict rules were in place to keep the residents safe and their purpose hidden from the rest of the world. Winnie Wednesday came from a family of hunters. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother and become one as well. Unfortunately, Winnie's father had broken a serious Luminary rule and disappeared shortly after. Winnie, along with her mother and brother, were cast out of the Luminaries for a period of ten years as punishment. They were found to be negligent of knowing about Winnie's father's activities. They could still live in Hemlock Falls, but they were no longer able to hold certain positions/jobs or attend any family activities.

At sixteen, Luminaries could participate in three successive hunter trials to become a nightmare hunter. If one failed a trial, they lost their only chance of completing the tests. Winnie planned to enter the trials in hopes of restoring her family's name by becoming a hunter. There were no rules stating an outcast could not participate. Because they had been exiled, Winnie did not have the benefit of the training the other participants had. She hoped the training she did on her own would be enough to keep from being killed by the nightly horrors. When Winnie wandered the forest looking for monsters in the first trail, she encountered a creature that she had never seen in the Nightmare Compendium, a listing and description of all known nightmarish creatures. Would anyone believe what she saw?

This was just ok. The plot was an interesting premise, but the story was dull and somewhat one note. I didn't feel connected to the characters. Most of the book focused on Winnie and her anxiety about participating in the three trials. The reader got to know a little about her mother and brother, but I wanted to know more about them. The additional characters only served to show how poorly Winnie and her family were treated and how their life was miserable. There was mention of Winnie's father and potential contact, but that goes no where in the story. Maybe that will come up in a sequel. The story seemed to glide along the surface without the details that would make one want to pick it up again once you set it down. I might not have finished it had it not been a book club selection.
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