Book Review & Buddy Read: “The Diviners” (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray

“The Diviners” by Libba Bray (2012)

Genre: YA, Historical, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal

Page Length: 578 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

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-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened. (description from Goodreads)

Review: 

*This was a part of a buddy read I did in December with fellow book blogger Zezee With Books! Click here to see her thoughts on the book and to check out her amazing blog!

The Diviners is a YA historical fiction set in 1920s New York (gave me Great Gatsby vibes) and follows the main character Evie who get into trouble at home and is sent to live with her Uncle Will in New York. She has a reputation for being brash, outspoken, and wild. She also, as readers come to find out, is a “diviner” with the ability to touch items and see visions of someone’s past and future. Though the story is centered on Evie, we are introduced to a multitude of characters through various povs such as other “diviners” within the city and our terrifying villain of the story John Hobbes, who is a ghost-like/demonic presence.

I’ve read Bray’s works before (A Great and Terrible Beauty) and I appreciate her stories are slow-moving and incredibly detailed. Sometimes these factors can drag on in a long book such as this, but I felt that helped to immerse you into the story and give the historical aspects authenticity. There is a lot of work that goes into the world-building of setting up the trilogy and I appreciated Bray throwing in small tidbits throughout the story that eventually come into play.  I liked that Bray also touches on many societal issues and different belief practices of the time as well.

This book was a definite page-turner from beginning to end! It’s informative, spooky, and action-packed. It was a bit darker than I expected it to be (trigger warning for some graphic scenes), but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. The most chilling part about the novel was reading the pov of John Hobbes, it sent shivers down my spine. Evie was a bit over-the-top, but as the novel went on she really grew on me and I felt that she gave the story some jazzy flair. The book in not only about solving a murder mystery, but also focuses on Evie’s journey of self-discovery and coming into her powers.

Though the book comes to a close, it ends on a cliff-hanger with many open-ended questions. I cannot wait to jump into the next book and see what happens to the diviners and the ominous presence that seems to be lurking over the city.

Final Verdict: