Book Summary: Evie O'Neill has the ability to learn about people by touching something that person owns. By using her power at a party, she starts a scandal in her small town of Ohio and is sent to live with her uncle in New York. Her uncle Will is the curator of the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. She keeps her supernatural power from her uncle, fearing that it will only bring her trouble. When a local girl is found murdered with strange symbols on her body, the police ask Will for help to understand if there was a purpose to the murders. Something or someone evil is searching for its next victims in a purposeful manner. When more people are found murdered with missing body parts and more symbols, the situation becomes more dire. Evie, her uncle, his assistant, and a pick pocket collaborate to get the bottom of the murders before the next victim is killed.
APA Reference of Book:
Bray, L. (2012). The diviners. New York, NY: Little Brown.
Impressions: This book is incredibly complex. There are many sub-layers to the plot and after finishing it, I am not entirely sure I had it all sorted out. At first it is a story about Evie O'Neill that has used her "party trick," a supernatural power, to create a scandal in her hometown in Ohio. When she is sent off to live with her uncle, she keeps her power from him, but it later ends up helping in solving the mystery of the murders. The story takes place in 1926, where Prohibition, speakeasys, pickpockets, and an interest in the occult are prevalent. While reading this story, I began to see some similarities to Dan Brown's book Angels & Demons. The main similarity is how a religious viewpoint influences horrific murders. In The Diviners, however, the religious group in question believes that the apocalypse is coming and that the Beast will return. There are some sub-plots to the story, including two boys that have gifts: one is able to heal people and the other can read cards without seeing them. A neighbor of theirs is a blind man who may or may not have significance in understanding what exactly is the "Beast". Their other neighbor may be involved in some kind of secret group and it is not explained how she knows Evie's uncle Will. The book is long, but even then, it does not close plot points. In fact, it appears to open up more plot opportunities for future books.
Professional Review:
"One of the interesting things Bray does is that, while this is Evie's story, it is told from multiple viewpoints. Because of this, from the start the reader has more information than Evie or any of the other characters. The characters don't reveal all their secrets right away, not to each other, and not to Evie, and not even to the reader. Just when I thought I had more puzzle pieces than Evie so knew what was happening, something else was added. I was reminded (in a good way) of Stephen King. At times, I was waiting for Evie to catch up to what I knew, or wondering when she'd work something out, but just as often I was surprised by what had happened or where things were going" (Burns, 2012, http://blogs.slj.com/teacozy/2012/09/17/review-the-diviners/)
Burns, E. (2012, September 17). [Review of the book The diviners, by L. Bray] Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/teacozy/2012/09/17/review-the-diviners/
"One of the interesting things Bray does is that, while this is Evie's story, it is told from multiple viewpoints. Because of this, from the start the reader has more information than Evie or any of the other characters. The characters don't reveal all their secrets right away, not to each other, and not to Evie, and not even to the reader. Just when I thought I had more puzzle pieces than Evie so knew what was happening, something else was added. I was reminded (in a good way) of Stephen King. At times, I was waiting for Evie to catch up to what I knew, or wondering when she'd work something out, but just as often I was surprised by what had happened or where things were going" (Burns, 2012, http://blogs.slj.com/teacozy/2012/09/17/review-the-diviners/)
Burns, E. (2012, September 17). [Review of the book The diviners, by L. Bray] Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/teacozy/2012/09/17/review-the-diviners/
Library Uses: I think this story would be a good book club title for both teens and adults. The complex plot, historical plot points, and supernatural elements could lead to much discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment