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A review by fartandsoul
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed this! I think it's a nice little YA moment. I did my usual tag-team of audiobook and physical book and this time preferred the physical book—I just got more into it that way. I found the audiobook narrator kind of annoying in terms of how she did the voices.
As for the book itself, it was a fun concept! I was rooting for Winnie, and I definitely wanted to see what happened next. There were some great moments of figurative language, especially one that stood out comparing Jay to winter (maybe his eyes, if I'm remembering correctly). I thought the plot elements wove together well at the end, and the Whisperer in particular was a cool creative monster.
My critiques—I didn't love the days-of-the-week last names, it felt a little corny, and the side characters were underdeveloped. They seemed more like props for Winnie than true characters in themselves, even the ones who were integral to the main story. The twins in particular bothered me because they seemed so one-dimensional. The author was clearly working hard to make the cast diverse, which I appreciated, but since the side characters were so flat the diversity seemed extra tokenized.
Despite that, I'm still going to pick up the next one! I'm definitely curious and would recommend this to a younger teen.
As for the book itself, it was a fun concept! I was rooting for Winnie, and I definitely wanted to see what happened next. There were some great moments of figurative language, especially one that stood out comparing Jay to winter (maybe his eyes, if I'm remembering correctly). I thought the plot elements wove together well at the end, and the Whisperer in particular was a cool creative monster.
My critiques—I didn't love the days-of-the-week last names, it felt a little corny, and the side characters were underdeveloped. They seemed more like props for Winnie than true characters in themselves, even the ones who were integral to the main story. The twins in particular bothered me because they seemed so one-dimensional. The author was clearly working hard to make the cast diverse, which I appreciated, but since the side characters were so flat the diversity seemed extra tokenized.
Despite that, I'm still going to pick up the next one! I'm definitely curious and would recommend this to a younger teen.