Continuing: The Diviners

by Libba Bray


Picking up where I left off about a month ago.  So this is sort of a first impression opinion post.

Anyway...

When I first read Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle series, this phenomenon seemed to happen: I just could NOT get into the story at all.  A Great and Terrible Beauty had some beautiful writing and great attention to detail.  I don't know what it was, but I had started reading the book and put it on hold a total of three times before I finally hunkered down and got past that strange barrier.  And after that, I enjoyed the book alright -- it wasn't the best of reads, but it was enough to keep me hooked in and interested.

And now, with The Diviners, the same exact thing has happened.

Here is a brief rundown of my thoughts written by the chapter up to how far I'd gotten before I put it on hold due to one series marathon, new book releases, and other interests...


First Chapter: A Late-Summer Evening
I'm sure I skimmed over half of this chapter without really knowing what the significance of describing an entire city in intricate detail merits if we won't even be seeing it again.  As far as the summary depicts, our heroine is leaving the town anyway.  The scenes taking place with the Ouija board and then the very last paragraph of the entire chapter were the only parts I cared enough about to pay attention to... so, whatevs.

I've read this first chapter three times (due to that mental block that keeps drawing me away from this book), and it still doesn't get any better.  If anything, I'm starting to wonder if this is my blatant disinterest in historical fiction, or if Libba Bray's introductory style just turns me off since I had the same problem with A Great and Terrible Beauty.  While I love her writing style, her pacing just hits me as being kind of slow.


Second Chapter: Evie O'Neill, Zenith, Ohio
No big comments.

Not sure how I like Evie right now -- spoiled, snobbish, selfish, destructive trouble-maker...  Things I absolutely hate in main characters.  Then again, she's different and outlandish, so this might be fun and unconventional from typical YA females.  I certainly ended up liking Gemma Doyla in a neutral I-don't-outright-hate-you way by the time I finished the last book in that trilogy.  Not saying that I loved her or that I'll love Evie, but we'll see where this goes.

Dialogue and narration might be a bit tacky, but I'm not familiar enough with 1920s lingo to know whether or not this fits the time period.  As I've mentioned, my interest in historical fiction is a little on the meh side.  However, I might start up a counter for how many times someone says "pos-i-tute-ly" or ends their exclamations with a "-ski".  I feel like a teenager trying not to roll my eyes at the thought of lame parents trying to sound cool...


Third Chapter: Memphis Campbell, Harlem, New York City
Not much to go on.  Moving along now.


Fourth Chapter: The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies
I totally want to see a Museum of Creepy Crawlies (says the nerd in me).  Cause THAT is an interesting chapter title too.

Anyway... about the book itself:

"If God is an all-knowing, all-powerful deity, how can he allow evil to exist?  Either he is not the omnipotent god we've been told, or he is all-powerful and all-knowing, and also cruel, because he allows evil to exist and does nothing to stop it." 

"Well, that certainly explains Prohibition..." 

-- page 37, Nook edition

Yeah.  I can't believe it actually started getting a little exciting.  I should have seen it coming.  I wish I would have caught up with the museum and Uncle Will before I had decided to start a new book (nay, a completely new SERIES of four books I borrowed from the library that lasted me four weeks since THAT excursion flopped as well...)

Evie, Evie, Evie... maybe it's the nerd in me speaking.  While I like your penchant for sarcasm and wit... how could you NOT find interest in the free guided tour of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult?  I could spend hours in a place like that and never get bored.  And Jericho, the young history nerd buff?  I'm interested already!  :D


Setting that aside...We're jumping into the thick of the story now: The Diviners is finally coming to light.  I'm almost wondering if she couldn't have shortened the first three chapters into one prologue to show us the "troublesome Evie" stuff and introduce Memphis, then send her off to New York.  And then, Chapter Two, BANG! we get into the religious controversy speeches with a dash of Diviners talk laced into it.

Then again, I guess even if I didn't know how to appreciate the build-up from the first three chapters, others might find it good.

Looks like this is the chapter that finally did it for me and I choose not to drop the book for this reason.

***

Gemma Doyle hooked me with character development and writing style and story creation.  Hopefully The Diviners does the same.  As a first impression, I see a very solid 3 star rating in this book's future.  If reading a book feels like such a chore to me, it's hard to give it more than an average rating even if I end up enjoying it in the end.  Unless there's some surprisingly pleasant twist or whatever that truly catches me in awe.

So we'll leave it at that for now.

Review: The Sweet Far Thing

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I really wanna give this book a score between "It was Okay" and "I liked it" because I can't say that I actually liked this last book of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, but I can't particularly say that I didn't like it either. It's one of those things where the anticipation over-weighs what you actually end up getting from the book; I liked the trilogy as a whole, but I'm not saying that it was the best thing I've read since I first picked up my bookworm mission, and the concluding book to this trilogy really DID lose a LOT of steam halfway through. About 70% into the book and I suddenly felt like I just wanted everything to conclude right then and there and quit dragging the story out until it's bitter end.

Nonetheless, there is very little I really want to say about The Sweet Far Thing; it proved rather consistent in character development and progression. The writing style remained up to par, and I DID find myself wanting to know how the story would end even though a lot of things became rather predictable very quickly. Basically, the ending twist was NOT exciting to me because I had already guessed it; no harm and no disappointment, but a little bit of hope diminished that I'd be surprised. What I'm saying is, that while I approve of the ending, I'm not completely satisfied. It's a very safe, very smooth conclusion and I know that it fits in well with the story; but I personally would have preferred something different. That's just me.

Anyway, I have enjoyed the trilogy, and while it took a bit of time for me to even get into the book, once I finally figured out what was going on in the Gemma Doyle world and the story started to take it's course, I was hooked. Ms. Libba Bray does have very good penmanship, and I especially enjoyed her characters of Gemma, Ann and Felicity, the teachers (of course, I also got pretty annoyed with them as well, but at the very least they weren't all Mary Sues out to save the world; defining character flaws are always welcome... though sometimes the character flaws might have gotten out of hand and got some grumbling from me).



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Review: Rebel Angels

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Not bad for book two of this trilogy where we get to start seeing a much darker side to the entire magical aspect of Gemma's adventure with her friends. I don't really have much to say about this particular book except that I really enjoyed how the story is progressing. Of course, there are a LOT of things that made me stop and wonder, such as the naivette of the girls for too easily trusting the wrong people, or so easily turning against one another in tantrums brought out by their own insecurities. There is still that annoying "every woman for herself" selfishness in each of our characters, and yet at the same time, they wish to have a deeper friendship filled with trust and love. It's hard for people to fully trust or receive trust if they can so readily arm themselves against an attack that hasn't happened yet.

But enough about that -- as far as story goes, the progression and the "surprise" twists really weren't as surprising as some might have expected. It wasn't hard to figure out who the true enemy was by the time the first book ended and this is only coming from dozens and dozens of story line progression strategies that you become aware of after reading so many books. Ms. Libba Bray DOES paint very good images and has written the book rather well in terms of style; it's a lot better than a lot of other books I've read lately, so it's a pleasant reprieve from the many books I'm being told to pick up and read with the moniker "Best Book Ever" or "excellent writing style" tacked on by people who obviously don't really read much.

While at first, in book one of this trilogy, I wasn't really enjoying it, I'm glad that things have picked up and I have hopes that the final book will prove that I didn't stick with the trilogy for nothing. For the most part, the good writing kept me going, the interesting descriptions and word usage had me hoping, and at present, Gemma's development is actually pretty nice to see. Moving onto the third book now and ready to finish up this adventure.

The Victorian era is a world that I understand little about, but if it's anything like it is spelled out in Gemma Doyle's world, then I hope I never have to endure something like that in my own life -- makes me glad my time is so much more free and NOT built so much on reputations and the like. It sound exhausting, but it was kind of amusing to watch the character go through all of those traditional activities of the uppity-up high society wealth and their snobbery of lifestyles. Amusing, not that I liked it, but it was fun nonetheless.



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Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The beginning of this book didn't hook me in as I had been expecting from all the praises the book was getting from friends around. But then again, after a run of bad books, I should have known better. Nonetheless, the further I got into the story, the more interested I became with it, which is a plus in number of stars, though the unfortunate downfall was that it starts off rather slowly.

I don't like including summaries in my reviews, so I won't mention anything outside of some character information. The first impression I had gotten about this book was that I didn't particularly find any of the characters likable. They had their sardonic charms, but I couldn't help but to wonder if Gemma Doyle was a naturally dour person since she didn't seem to be able to find ANYTHING she liked at all throughout the first half of the book. She didn't get along with the girls who are all conniving, manipulative and straight out mean (which I'm assuming is what "Victorian" age people are supposed to act like? I don't know, I don't read many books in this era of history.).

As annoying as the characters were, that's not what kept me from getting into the book in the first place -- the story just didn't seem to be going anywhere. We spent a whole deal of filler time getting Gemma from India to London and finally to a more better understanding of what's going on in the magical world (for me, at least). And when the girls form their makeshift Order and begin to bond, THAT's when I actually started to enjoy the story a bit more. And from then on, it just started getting more intriguing.

So as far as the series goes, I'm interested in seeing what else will happen in the last two books of this series. Even though the girls are harsh with words, I can't help but to think that this is what makes strong bonds and friendships anyway, so I actually love how the girls interact with each other (Gemma, Ann, Felicity and Pippa), though there are some points where they DO have their annoying traits resurface, such as Ann's deep desire to be accepted as someone she isn't (a beautiful, privileged girl from a well-to-to family) at the expense of Gemma's irritation. Case in point, when Ann tried to be a different person in front of Gemma's brother, not bothering to be a supporting friend when Gemma had her fight with her brother.

But those character flaws are what makes these girls a little more likable than if we were dealing with four Mary Sues in a row. So I actually kind of liked them at the worst.

Anyway, as slow a start as this book had been, I really enjoyed it overall and will move onto the next book. For one, the reason I kept going in the first place was because the author DOES show a good sense of writing style that is descriptive, witty and smooth. In particular, the organ grinder's monkey just really stood out to me no matter how insignificant the item seemed at the beginning of the book. It's the little things I notice sometimes that makes or breaks a book for me, I guess.



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