The Diviners: The Diviners Book 1

I read this book is one sitting and am writing this review still kind of dizzy in a book-hangover, so these are my unedited, spur-of-the-moment thoughts.

Firstly, the good and wonderful:

- The dialogue. Bray can really write snappy, quick-fire dialogue. I think this was the best bit of the book for me. It really pushed the plot forward, felt dynamic and realistic, and really helped me as a reader develop a relationship with the characters.

- The relationships between Henry and Theta, and Sam and Evie. Wonderful, really engaging and delightful. I especially love Hen and Theta and Bray did a really lovely job of showing the solidity and affection of platonic love. Sam and Evie were also wonderful to watch.

- The time period: Bray has clearly done her research and it was so invigorating to be able to sink your teeth into a NYC of history - and a book which enjoys and spends time on how the city was a melting pot of religions and languages and ethnicities and superstitions and technology. Bray really captured the exhilaration that must have alive at the time - the heady swing of the flappers and speakeasys, the glitz and glamour, and the suspicions and crime and bigotry and zeal. She brought 1920s America fantastically to life in all it's good and bad.

- The wealth of characters. The backstories and histories and cultures and subgroups. Very little felt forced, and it was really enjoyable to read and enjoy the collision of all these teenagers with their own jealousies and desperations and ambitions.

- Which leads me to say. They felt like teenagers. Like really. And it's such a breath of fresh air. Catching a glimpse of someone in their pyjamas and thinking 'well that's it I'm in love forever', sitting on the rooftop sulking, difficult relationships with parents as you're figuring out what person you are, the feeling of frustration at the injustices of the world and noone taking you seriously and that noone cares, being overlooked, making mistakes and hurting people unintentionally -- it all felt os human and real.

- I also really enjoyed Evie's selfishness. Yes sometimes it was annoying, yes she did come across as a bit petty, yes she could have been a better friend at this moment. But she makes mistakes - and deals with the consequences and fallout, she stands up for the people she loves, she says and does things she regrets and feels embarrassed about (I've been there). And you know what - it's time we have a female character who can be a bit brash, a bit honeyed, a bit arrogant, who takes up space. She's hardly the worst offender when it comes to all these things, and I'm tired of reading about female protagonists who are soft little mice (or worse, 'I'm not like other girls). Evie loves makeup and dresses and girl's magazines, she loves going out with her friends to the movies and sighing over actors. She also is desperate to be taken seriously as a woman, she sacrifices what's important to her, befriends social outcasts and tries to become a better person. Hear hear.

Secondly, the things that didn't sit so right with me:

- Mabel Rose. Other reviewers found her a little lacklustre or boring, and I totally see where they're coming from - compared to the glitz of Evie, Theta and Henry or the mystery of Jethro and Sam, she seems kinda plain. I think that's the point, she's hardworking and insecure about being overlooked. My main issue is that she is built up in the first half of the book and then completely abandoned. Apart from being someone that Evie knows and can bounce off when she first arrives in NYC, Mabel doesn't really contribute anything to the plot and is entirely forgotten about - only to reappear at the very end to have a haircut. This is a real disservice and I think Bray could possibly have cut her out altogether and the plot wouldn't change at all. What she contributes is minimal: 1) a way for Bray to spin and play on NYC history as the daughter of fairly radical socialists. 2) to make a love triangle with Jethro and Evie.... that's it. It's kind of disappointing and a little boring. Hopefully she has more of a role in the next few books. I haven't read the rest of the series at all - but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Mabel dies at some point. She seems primed to be the fridged best friend.

- Headhopping!! I'm all for multiple POVs and the Diviners is certainly full of characters and a thickly developing plot. However, I dislike headhopping - especially when it's done midscene or (worse) mid-sentence. Bray headhops rarely, but when she does it's very clunky and rarely contributes anything to a scene. My main issue with it is that it's lazy writing and tells reactions/emotions/character dynamics rather than shows them.

- Speaking of telling-not-showing, Other times I felt the book felt flat were the moments where backstory and character details were delivered heavily to the reader. I felt like I wasn't being rewarded for picking up any subtle details, nor was there any of the pay-off and mystery of slowly learning more about each of the many characters. Instead, backstories were regularly given in little info-dumps rattling off facts and little tidbits. Bray is a skilful writer and her characters are interesting and compelling which makes these opaque moments all the more boring and disappointing (not to mention they regularly throw the pacing off)

- This leads us onto the next point, pacing. Mostly I enjoyed the pace of the book. Everyone is going to have their own opinions about what makes a good book, personally I found the Diviners interesting (certainly enough to keep my reading in a single 5-hour sitdown). However.... there were passages which felt clunky, slow paced and a bit of a drag. They always had something in common: exposition and setting description. There were long interludes describing the city in some detail, or the wind, or characters we'd never met and won't meet again (I'm talking random drunks on the street and mothers with babies). I think these passages were intended to build suspense and horror and mystery, but with everything going on in the book - and such a fast moving plot, they didn't come off as tense and horror-inducing - but kinda rambling and boring. Again, Bray is a really skilled writer and there were descriptions I absolutely loved (the moon being compared to a vaudeville prop, the washing in the dirt to name a few). It isn't that I didn't like her writing style (I did) I just feel there were moments where the book felt cut in two: the murders, obsessive characters, riots, anger, giddiness and false glamour of the 1920s which are pacey and interesting and page turning; and the occasional interludes which are meandering, atmospheric, and slow paced. (I almost felt that Bray had two simultaneous ideas about how this book could be written and they warred with each other.)

- The very start of the book: set in her home-town, with the Ouija board. This was very slowmoving and a bit clunky (some of the writing much more overwrought than the rest of Bray's quick touch). I wasn't interested in any of the characters - who we never see again, and it didn't set the scene satisfactorily. I get that we need a reason why Evie is sent to her uncle's... and an introduction to her gift... but this could have been done a lot faster (as it is.. so much of it was told-not-shown anyway). Also, I felt like the Ouija connection to the rest of the plot <spoiler> that is, summoning Naughty Tom </spoiler> makes no sense. <spoiler> Why is his spirit connected to the Ouija board if it's all about the house? This was perhaps the only plot hole and was VERY unfulfilling </spoiler>. The book had plenty of spooks and ghouls <spoiler> and a pretty in depth explanation of a cult's plan for reincarnation </spoiler> without the need to resort to 'oh no these teenagers summoned an evil spirit'.

- Jethro. I liked him perfectly as a character, he seems a solid person. However, the romance between him and Evie felt very forced and nothing really brings the two together? I never felt we as readers get to root for him, which makes me think he's being used to create later tension.

- Final thought. Some of the slang felt overused.... I love some good slang and it was wonderfully grounding and brought the characters to life. But there were moments - especially in the first few chapters where it felt every possible flapper's slang was introduced, which felt unrealistic and a bit info-dumpy. This levels out throughout the book with each character developing their own little cache of phrases - which is very humanising and felt very natural.

Overall:

I know some people will be turned off by the occult nature, and the anti-religious tones. It was a tough read at times, and there was a great deal of cynicism towards all religions. However, I think it is still an important book to read. Because it looks at how easily something beautiful and personal (such as faith) can be corrupted and turned into a tool of evil. Cults, fearmongers, vicious and violent people, can start out as something innocuous. In fact, as someone who is religious, I felt the cynicism didn't stop at belief in God, but was also turned onto science, literature, academia, technology, journalism. All of these things - which can be healthy and good and beautiful - can also become tools for hatred. It's an important reminder for everyone.