Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Diviners #1

Release Date: September 18^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 608

Publisher: Little Brown for Young Readers

Source: ARC from BEA

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 comes 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.

The Diviners is the first book by Libba Bray I’ve ever had the chance to read, and all I have to say is HOW THE HECK DID IT TAKE ME THIS LONG TO READ HER AWESOMENESS!! Okay, I haven’t read anything else by her, but if her other book are half as good as The Diviners, it must be excellent. I have to say I was already sold on the book from the summary only, even before hearing that it was definitely something to check out. After all, it is set in the 20’s, in New York, that already sounds interesting. With a serial killer? Even more to my taste. With ghosts and some kind of cult? GIVE ME THAT BOOK NOW. This gigantic book can be scary when you first get your hand on it, but don’t let it scare you. It is so addicting that you will end up wishing it had been longer.

At first, I wasn’t that sure about the different points of view, but as the book goes on, you understand why Libba Bray was giving us an insight in the mind of so many different characters. I did really like Evie’s narration, but am I the only one who wished we could have seen more of Memphis? I was quite interested in hearing more about him, and I do hope we will get more in the next book. Still didn’t mean I didn’t want to follow Evie. She was hilarious and she was a little too brave by moments, getting herself in some dangerous situations. That’s probably why I liked her that much.

This book could have easily become overwhelming for some readers, since there is so much stuff going on. Yet, I find it to be perfectly well balanced for me, giving me enough about various characters to please me, but not enough to stop me from wanting more about them in the upcoming books. That’s what was awesome for me. It wasn’t only Evie that was interesting, all the character we meet were in some way. Libba Bray really sucked me into her world with this book. You can be assured that I will be counting the days until I get more of it.