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A review by hollidayreadswithme
The Diviners by Libba Bray
5.0
Gee Wilkers! What a scoop!
I didn't expect much from this book. I happened across it and my library happened to have it available so I downloaded the kindle copy and the audiobook (which is incredible).
The setting is in 1920's New York, but we don't start there. We start in Ohio. Where Evie, the protagonist, just doesn't seem to fit in with her peers or much of anyone. And we find out it's because she's different...in more ways than one. At first, I was thinking it was going to be another YA coming of age novel with a cool background, but boy was I wrong!
I honestly don't think I've read anything like this. I picked this up because of the broken pearl necklace on the front, which fills one of the requirements for the PopSugar challenge. I don't usually read anything fantastical like this, but this has changed my outlook on fantasy and I can't wait to read the next two books.
As for the writing style, It didn't feel like a simplistic YA novel, Libby Bray masterfully crafted this world to sweep us off our feet and transport us into the past. Into the land of speakeasies and listless misfits, magick, and demons, we are given a chance to look into the past with a commentary from a future voice.
In Evie, we find the defiant, headstrong female character who does not shirk at the sight of danger but revels in being part of the action. In Memphis, we find a boy, forced out of his childhood by the death of his mother, attempting to carve out his own dream from the rubble of his misfortune. In Jericho, we see a giant, seemingly staunch but inwardly kind. Even though the story revolves around young adults, their adulthood is emphasized. In that way, it can appeal to adult audiences, because it speaks to the misfit in all of us.
I enjoyed every minute of the ride.
Audiobook comments: January LeVoy is absolutely brilliant. I thought there was a whole cast of characters but no, just a delightful woman with talent and a microphone. It's an experience.
2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a criminal character
I didn't expect much from this book. I happened across it and my library happened to have it available so I downloaded the kindle copy and the audiobook (which is incredible).
The setting is in 1920's New York, but we don't start there. We start in Ohio. Where Evie, the protagonist, just doesn't seem to fit in with her peers or much of anyone. And we find out it's because she's different...in more ways than one. At first, I was thinking it was going to be another YA coming of age novel with a cool background, but boy was I wrong!
I honestly don't think I've read anything like this. I picked this up because of the broken pearl necklace on the front, which fills one of the requirements for the PopSugar challenge. I don't usually read anything fantastical like this, but this has changed my outlook on fantasy and I can't wait to read the next two books.
As for the writing style, It didn't feel like a simplistic YA novel, Libby Bray masterfully crafted this world to sweep us off our feet and transport us into the past. Into the land of speakeasies and listless misfits, magick, and demons, we are given a chance to look into the past with a commentary from a future voice.
In Evie, we find the defiant, headstrong female character who does not shirk at the sight of danger but revels in being part of the action. In Memphis, we find a boy, forced out of his childhood by the death of his mother, attempting to carve out his own dream from the rubble of his misfortune. In Jericho, we see a giant, seemingly staunch but inwardly kind. Even though the story revolves around young adults, their adulthood is emphasized. In that way, it can appeal to adult audiences, because it speaks to the misfit in all of us.
I enjoyed every minute of the ride.
Audiobook comments: January LeVoy is absolutely brilliant. I thought there was a whole cast of characters but no, just a delightful woman with talent and a microphone. It's an experience.
2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a criminal character