#169 Book Review: The Diviners

The Diviners
Release Date: November 2012
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy:  Fishpond | Booktopia | Dymocks
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from 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...

Cover:
Aussie cover all the way! I fell in love with this book's appearance so much. From that mysterious cover, to the gold-tinted fonts and the spine. LOVE IT!

Story:

Welcome to the glamorous New York, 1920...

Oh hello there The Diviners, my first Libba Bray book ever! Mysteries, clairvoyance and the glamourous New York is there to attract you into the intriguing crafty story Libba Bray has written in The Diviners. Reading this book made me feel like singing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' somehow. This book is pos-i-tutely charming and I enjoyed it!

This book is written from different points of view although the main character is still Evie. This book is fairly huge, about 600 pages but Libba Bray manages to explore the glamorous and quite scary-at-times New York descriptively. Reading this book made me want to live in the 1920 New York. The story plot and Libba Bray's witty writing are the best elements in this book. However, the switching points of view between Evie and the other characters made me lack the connection with the story. Sometimes, I felt confused and there were some bits that dragged for a while. While mysteries surround the book, romance does make an appearance and I thought it was really sweet, cute and charming. Although, I did enjoy this book even though I did not love it as much as I thought I would.

Characters:
Evie O'Neill. Be my new best friend please! I absolutely clicked with Evie from the first page. Throughout the book, I kept on wondering what Evie would do and how she would act to certain situations. There's also Uncle Will, the coolest uncle in the world. Well, he might not be the COOLEST but he's still cool! I really liked Memphis too. Some of the bits in the book were written from his perspective and I really did enjoy it! AND AND NAUGHTY JOHN! I'm scared of you. But not that scared. Oh and not to forget Jericho and Sam, Evie's love interest. So I liked both of them but maybe I'm leaning more towards Jericho! Overall, I do think that the characters all well-written although I do have to say that Evie was probably the one that I connected most with!

Overall:
How about a trip to the Museum of Creepy Crawlies in New York, 1920? Sounds great? The Diviners is the first charming, scary with a touch of humour book in Libba Bray's newest series. You like mysteries, clairvoyance and ghosts? Well this book is for you! Even though I didn't felt quite connected with the story, I still enjoyed this book overall! Absolutely can't wait for the sequel!

3 Forget-Me-Not flowers for The Diviners!

Thank you Allen & Unwin for the review copy!