The Diviners Discussion - FINAL THOUGHTS

[Lindsey]

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS ON ALL ON THE ENTIRE BOOK!!!

What were your thoughts on The Diviners? What are you rating it? Are you going to continue the series?

I won't actually be starting the book until the 16th but I'll definitely be posting thoughts when I finish it!

[Angela]

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the feeling of New York in the 1920s. I loved the way they talked, I loved the way they acted, I just loved everything.

Every single character had so much life and depth to them. They all felt so real and I felt like I was personally getting to know them.

This was such a thrilling and exciting read. I found myself laughing one second, and then terrified the next.

I wouldn't be surprised if this book found a spot in my top 15 of 2015. 5/5

[Katie]

This book just didn't do it for me. I thought there were too many ideas shoved together - 1920s, ghosts, occult rituals, robots?, etc... just too much and it was unsuccessful.

I found Evie pretty annoying actually.

It was just WAY too long, and said in like 50 words what could have been said in 5. I found myself with glazed over eyes and just speed reading, just to get to parts that were moderately more interesting.

I will not be continuing on with the 2nd book, and gave this 2.5/5 stars. Oh well.

[Christina]

I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be picking up the sequel in July! I rated this a solid 4 stars. I'm going to paste my GR review below.

This was my first time reading a book written during the flapper era in the United States and I really enjoyed it! Libba Bray did a great job creating an atmospheric book that complemented the main mystery perfectly. My only complaint was the amount of period slang in the book. At times it was fun to hear words and phrases used during this time period, but at other times it seemed like the author just tried to through in as much slang as possible whether it added to the conversation or now.

I've read reviews stating that the main character Evie is selfish, annoying and arrogant. I can see where they are coming from, but I really liked Evie as a main character. You can see her growth and development throughout the novel as she moves from Ohio to New York City and goes though several experiences that cause her to grow up faster than she would have had she stayed at home. Also, Libba Bray did a good job of showing us both Evie's selfish side and also her internal struggles, including her fears and doubts. We see the person she portrays to everyone else is not who she is inside. And this is how a lot of real people act-it made her a more believeable character.

Another strength of this novel was the multiple POVs. Not only did we get a well-fleshed out main character, but the secondary characters were rich, too. Even characters who played a minor role seemed real to me. Libba Bray reminded me of Steven King in how they both can add just the right amount of backstory details and character traits to even minor characters to make them seem multi-dimensional.

The mystery itself wasn't the most compelling I've ever read but I enjoyed it. The ending made me want to read the next book. Glad I don't have to wait that long for it!