The Diviners

Review Time! The Diviners is the latest book from the bestselling YA author of The Gemma Doyle Trilogy - Libba Bray! Libba also wrote Going Bovine and Beauty Queens (which was absolutely brilliant - you can check out my review Here). This is definitely a book that's been getting a great deal of hype lately. You can purchase a copy of The Diviners from Fishpond | The Nile | Booktopia | Bookworld Thanks to Allen and Unwin for the review copy!

(Goodreads) 1920s New York. A teen clairvoyant. An old evil. It has begun...

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old home town and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City - and she is pos-i-tute-ly thrilled! New York is the city of speak-easies, rent parties, shopping and movie palaces, and soon enough Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfeld girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that 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 it. Even Evie's new pals - hoofers, numbers runners and activists, but all swell kids - are drawn into 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 Short Story? - Bray doesn't disappoint fans with the eagerly anticipated The Diviners! A combination of the dazzle and glamour of the roaring twenties and a Ripper-esque murder mystery, The Diviners is hauntingly beautiful. Written with Bray's signature prose and flair, The Diviners is definitely   unlike anything I've ever read. Filled with complex ideas, grisly murders and fantastic characters, The Diviners is your dose of historical fiction with a morbid twist!

The Long Story? - The size of The Diviners is absolutely terrifying. At 578 pages this is one of the biggest books I've tackled and while it did take me ages to finish, it was all worth it in the end. The complexity of the plot deserves every one of those 578 pages, I can not begin to describe how BIG the plot is. Bray takes historical fiction to a completely new level. She has incorporated a Ripper-esque murder mystery into an era usually reserved for dreams, parties and flappers. I absolutely loved the clash between the dark nature of the plot with the glamourous Twenties New York setting. More than that, Bray has incorporated so many side stories into the "big picture", the characters all have their own secret agendas and I just can't wait to see how the puzzle pieces fit together. Reading The Diviners is a little overwhelming there is so much going on and the more you read the more you crave, it's a book that deserves undivided attention but I don't regret reading any of the 578 pages!

The novel is written in alternating perspectives of countless characters and because of it's multiple narrators, I got to know all the characters pretty well. I could easily connect with Evie as I see aspects of my own personality in hers. She's such a vibrant person and while she's not all that aware of how her actions affect others, her heart is in the right place. Jericho hasn't entirely won me over because I find it difficult to understand his quiet and quite frankly, bland, personality. He's a little too nice and boring for me but I'm keen to see where Bray takes him in the sequel. Sam completely stole my heart, absolutely charming, this guy is right down my alley. Every novel needs their own Sam because they just give the novel that extra shine! A very entertaining cast of characters, I'm not going to go through them all but you will meet so many wonderful characters that you will have no desire to finish the novel.

In a nutshell, as far as historical fiction go The Diviners is a must read! I've always loved the glamour of the roaring twenties but with the supernatural twist of the plot, The Diviners just offers something more unpredictable, edgy and different. Beautifully written, Bray's The Diviners is the start of what is going to be a spectacular series! Highly recommended, if you enjoyed The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, this one is right down your alley!

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Badass Bookie xx