Release Date: September 18, 2012
Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: Bought
IBSN: 9780316126113
Blurb: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.
I’m ashamed to admit that The Diviners is the first book I’ve ever read by Libba Bray. After flipping the last page of this fairly hefty book I can’t wait to devour everything she has written and will write. The Diviners is a remarkable book that blew me away.
First and foremost I want to mention the size of this book. The Diviners is almost 600 pages. That’s really long for a YA novel, but please, please don’t be put off by that. I was swept into the story from the very first chapter. It did take me awhile to read, but that was because real life kept getting in the way. I never felt bored or fretted about how much was left while reading. I was captivated the entire time. I also want to comment on the fact that this is very much a paranormal book. Paranormal is a genre that I typically stay away from, but you guys, this is an amazing paranormal read. It’s not ordinary at all.
There are lots of characters in The Diviners. They alternate between chapters so that you get small glimpses of all of them. Evie and Memphis are the main two and I loved both of them. Evie was pretty adorable. I wish that I could be BFF’s with her. I loved her wit and impulsiveness. She did things that I would never dare to do and I loved every second of it. I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book with a character that jumped off the page like Evie did. Her voice was so amazingly clear. She really came to life for me.
Memphis was also fantastic. I loved how passionate he was about his poetry and how devoted he was to his little brother. I can’t wait to see his story unfold. Then there’s all these amazing and mysterious side characters. Every one of them had a lush back story. Every character in the book was utterly fascinating.
The world in The Diviners has the one thing that makes me add a book to my favorites list, atmosphere. The world was my most favorite thing about the book. It was so layered and vivid. It felt like I fell into 1920′s New York City and was a flapper right alongside Evie. Not only was the 20′s NYC setting incredible but the whole idea of the Diviners, the cult, Naughty John, everything, it all added up to one of the most extraordinary worlds I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
I’m going to stop gushing I guess. Nothing I say about The Diviners by Libba Bray is going to do it justice. It is a truly incredible book. I’m so happy that it’s a series because I want to immerse myself in this world for as long as I possibly can.
I’ve been wanting to read more Libba Bray since I read Beauty Queens, which was awesome. I must get this, it sounds great!
Belle recently posted..Top Ten Contemporary YA Authors
I keep picking this book up in B&N, and putting it back down. I’ll admit the size of it definitely is intimidating, but knowing Bray’s past works (I was madly obsessed with A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY) I should know better than to pause. I think a bookstore trip is in order!
Alivia Anders recently posted..TOUCHING ETERNITY Cover Reveal!
Everyone looooves The Diviners! I just read Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and I still need to read all her other books. I’d love to like this book, but the timely setting holds me off.. Maybe one day
DannyBookworm recently posted..The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
I bet you’ll be reading more! Start with Beauty Queens ON AUDIO. You will not regret the decision.
I was put off by the page number too, but this setting, characters and plot are truly magnificent. I really was transported back to the 20s and now I want to be a flapper when I grow up. :Þ P.S. You have the hair cut already! I think the creep factor of this book was so well done, and I was not expecting it. I really enjoyed her lore about Naughty John, and please oh please, I hope I never find out it was based on something real.
Smash Attack recently posted..Middle Ground Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway
I’m already a HUGE, GIGANTIC Libba fan, and am only 2/3 through this one, but it is, hands-down, her best book yet! So awesome! I adore Evie, Theta, and Memphis! I totally agree with Ash! You MUST read Beauty Queens next, AND do it audio-style. Libba reads it herself, and I know you’ve seen her speak, so you know this, but she could have a seriously successful career as a stand-up comedian if the writing thing stopped working for her. She is hilarious! Actually, Beauty Queens was one of my top three favorite books of 2011. You also need to read her Gemma Doyle trilogy, especially if you liked the Historical/Paranormal mashup The Diviners offered! Her only book that I didn’t love wad Going Bovine, but I liked it. Anyway, GREAT review! Can’t wait to hear what you think of her other books.
Sorry for any typos… Typing on my phone sux.
Karis @YA Litwit
I’m surprised to hear this is your 1st Libba Bray book. She writes epic books, all of them, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy them all. If your interested at all in audiobooks you should check out Beauty Queens because Libba reads it herself and she does such an amazing job it really made me LOVE her even more. It starts off a little wishy washy when your getting to know all the seemingly shallow beauty queens, but the twists and turns and all around hilariousness make it worth it!
I started this, but then stopped again. I really was enjoying it. I just have other books that I have to read first so I am kind of just reading it off and on until I have time to devote to it. I totally wasn’t expecting it in the mail so I didn’t save time in my schedule for it. I am glad to know that it’s amazing though. I am hoping to get back to it in a few weeks! Awesome review!
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I have this book sitting on my shelf until I have time to sit down and read it for as long as I like, but now your review has made me want to pick it up now even though i have loads of homework to do! I am so excited to read this, Libba Bray is becoming one of my favourite authors! Great review
Brodi recently posted..Review: Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen
Agh! I have this one and I have been dying to dive in, but I haven’t had a chance. It’ll be my first Libba Bray as well
Becky recently posted..To See or Not to See: Sinister
Shamefully, I haven’t read anything by LIbba Bray before too. And I still haven’t. The volume wasn’t actually a big problem, somehow, I like large volume books, reading them feels like such an accomplishment, so I like them. However, I have noticed from the multitude reviews I’ve read that they all mentioned there were a lot of characters and POVs in this book. I am not person who can do well with a bunch of characters. Especially when most of them have their own POVs, I think switching POVs is a very tough job for both the author and the reader, so I usually don’t admire books with more than 5 POVs, and I prefer first person than third person
So I must say even though I have read so many rave reviews on this book, I am not going to read it. Maybe I’ll read something else by Libba Bray, since it looks like she’s a very great author, maybe the Gemma Doyle Trilogy? They’re on my TBR list 
Allyson Rida recently posted..Review: Once a Witch By Carolyn MacCullough (Witch #1)
Ditto. To everything.
This book was my first Libba Bray book too and I’m nearly kicking myself for not reading her stuff sooner. I could ramble about this book for days, it was that good. Everything – and everyone – was just so beautifully described and fleshed out. I loved it. Absolutely loved it!
Leah recently posted..review; the diviners
Guess I need to bump this up on my list! Great review.
Nicole recently posted..Vessel
I haven’t read any Libba Bray but it sounds like I need to rectify that. Great characetrs and atmosphere plus some woowoo…sounds great!
Melissa recently posted..Mad about Medea, Guest Post & Giveaway with Tracey Sinclair
I haven’t read anything written by Libba either, but Lori, gosh darn it. You are going to convince me to do it. I have a copy of this one and by golly, I’ve just not been sure about it. Now I’m super curious. You said Incredible. That carries a lot of weight and I need something incredible.
Magan @ Rather Be Reading recently posted..Magan: One Pink Line by Dina Silver
All I’ve read of Libba Bray was her Gemma Doyle series, but I loved it! I really want to read more by her because she’s obviously a fantastic writer! 600 pages does sound pretty intimidating, but if it’s as good as you say it is, I’ll definitely be diving in!
Candice recently posted..Retro Reads Thursday: 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
I REALLY loved this book too! I loved how epic and sweeping it was. The characters were all fabulous and the setting was amazing, but it was Bray’s lush writing that really blew my mind. 600 pages didn’t feel long enough!
Great review:)
Heather@ The Flyleaf Review recently posted..Book Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Fab review. I really enjoyed this book and got to meet Libba at a signing last week (she was great). She sang the Naughty John song! I love how creepy this book was. Evie was great too although her slang got on my nerves. I adored Memphis.
Alison (AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn
I’m at around page 200 of this book now but I keep on forgetting to pick it back up. It’s strange because I usually breeze through YA books in one sitting. I’m glad you liked this one so much! The 20s setting really does feel vivid. Great review.
elena recently posted..(there are many copies) review: false memory by dan krokos
I haven’t read any books by Libba Bray yet, I think the reason that I have stayed away is only because I am not a big historical fiction fan but, I have heard that her books are amazing, the paranormal fact does intrigue me because I am drawn to that genre and it might make me enjoy the historical parts of it. Awesome review, Thanks for your thoughts!
Kristin @ Young Adult Book Haven
oooh, I need to read this one. I’m afraid it’ll take me more than a month to finish reading a 600 page book now but this one sounds like it’s worth it. Great review! =)
Cynthia recently posted..Crewel by Gennifer Albin
This was your first Libba Bray book?! I read the Gemma Doyle trilogy and loved it but didn’t care for Going Bovine (its not the kind of story everyone will appreciate). But I am SO eager to read this! I hope to start it in a few days.
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I had a copy of this from the library but the sheer size of this scared me away. I just don’t have the time to focus on one 600 page book since my reading time is slim as it is with school going on. I hope to one day give this author a chance but in all honesty I might start with her other books first since those are not as large as this one.
Thanks for the great review, I’m so glad you loved this book, so many people have been saying it wasn’t that good.
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Word. I want to immerse myself in this world for as long as possible too!
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