The Diviners [Hardcover]

Libba Bray (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 18, 2012 | Series: The Diviners

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Set in 1920s New York City, this literary tour-de-force from Printz Award-winner Bray offers grand themes, complex characters, and suspense. After her secret gift for divining information from objects lands her in trouble, 17-year-old Evangeline O'Neill is sent from Ohio to live with her uncle, who runs a museum specializing in folklore and the occult in Manhattan. Evie is a quintessential flapper: not really bad, but rebellious and yearning to fly free of her Babbitt-like existence. Although she starts out her new life like the party girl she was back home, her pursuits become more serious when her uncle is asked to help solve a series of strange murders. She crosses paths with Memphis Campbell, a black numbers runner in Harlem, whose power to heal by laying on hands failed him when he tried to save his mother. Other characters include a homosexual composer who meets people in dreams, a Ziegfeld girl with a past, a pickpocket searching for his family, and a young research assistant with his own secrets. Bray develops each of these characters and their gifts, gradually bringing them together in a chilling and thrilling battle with Naughty John, a paranormal serial killer. Over the course of the novel, people (mainly good) smoke, drink, and use other illegal substances. These peccadilloes are contrasted with the values of the hellfire-and-brimstone cult that spawned Naughty John. The compelling and dramatic supernatural plot explores self-actualization, predestination, the secrets everyone hides, and, of course, good versus evil. An absolutely terrific read and, thankfully, the first in a planned series.-Nina Sachs, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, MEα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

* "1920s New York thrums with giddy life in this gripping first in a new [series] from Printz winner Bray...The intricate plot and magnificently imagined details of character, dialogue and setting take hold and don't let go. Not to be missed."

(Kirkus Reviews, starred review )

* "The compelling and dramatic supernatural plot explores self-actualization, predestination, the secrets everyone hides, and, of course, good versus evil. An absolutely terrific read and, thankfully, the first in a planned series."

(School Library Journal, starred review )

"The Diviners delivers an addictive and terrifying story of young New Yorkers investigating a rash of occult-based murders. Bray sustains a breathless energy throughout this ambitious series-starter, deftly evoking the exuberance of 1920s city life and the evil lurking beneath it." (Entertainment Weekly )

" [A] lavish supernatural thriller...Wisecracking Evie is a likable heroine, and all signs point to intriguing complications and more malevolent spirits on the rise in succeeding books."

(The Horn Book )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (September 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780316126113
• ISBN-13: 978-0316126113
• ASIN: 031612611X
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction

More About the Author

author spotlight
"I'm one of those people who has to write. If I don't write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already."-Libba Bray

Libba Bray is the author of the acclaimed A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What is it about writing an author bio that gives me that deer-in-headlights feeling? It's not exactly like I'm going to say "I was born in Alabama..." and somebody's going to jump up and snarl, "Oh yeah? Prove it!" At least I hope not.

I think what gets me feeling itchy is all that emphasis on the facts of a life, while all the juicy, relevant, human oddity stuff gets left on the cutting room floor. I could tell you the facts-I lived in Texas for most of my life; I live in New York City with my husband and five-year-old son now; I have freckles and a lopsided smile; I'm allergic to penicillin.

But that doesn't really give you much insight into me. That doesn't tell you that I stuck a bead up my nose while watching TV when I was four and thought I'd have to go to the ER and have it cut out. Or that I once sang a punk version of "Que Sera Sera" onstage in New York City. Or that I made everyone call me "Bert" in ninth grade for no reason that I can think of. See what I mean?

God is in the details. So with that in mind, here is my bio. Sort of.

TWENTY-ONE THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
by Libba Bray

1. I lived in Texas until I was 26 years old, then I moved to New York City with $600.00 in my shoe ('cause muggers won't take it out of your shoe, y'know . . . riiiiight . . .) and a punchbowl (my grandmother's gift) under my arm. I ended up using the punchbowl box as an end table for two years.

2. My dad was a Presbyterian minister. Yes, I am one of those dreaded P.K.s-Preacher's Kids. Be afraid. Be very afraid . . .

3. The first story I ever wrote, in Mrs. McBee's 6th grade English class, was about a girl whose family is kidnapped and held hostage by a murderous lot of bank robbers who intend to kill the whole family-including the dog-until the 12-year-old heroine foils the plot and saves the day. It included colored pencil illustrations of manly-looking, bearded criminals smoking, and, oblivious to the fact that The Beatles had already sort of laid claim to the title, I called my novel, HELP. My mom still has a copy. And when I do something she doesn't like, she threatens to find it.

4. My favorite word is "redemption." I like both its meaning and the sound. My least favorite word is "maybe." "Maybe" is almost always a "no" drawn out in cruel fashion.

5. My three worst habits are overeating, self-doubt, and the frequent use of the "f" word.

6. The three things I like best about myself are my sense of humor, my ability to listen, and my imagination.

7. I have an artificial left eye. I lost my real eye in a car accident when I was eighteen. In fact, I had to have my entire face rebuilt because I smashed it up pretty good. It took six years and thirteen surgeries. However, I did have the pleasure of freezing a plastic eyeball in an ice cube, putting it in a friend's drink, ("Eyeball in your highball?") and watching him freak completely. Okay, so maybe that's not going down on my good karma record. But it sure was fun.

8. In 7th grade, my three best friends and I dressed up as KISS and walked around our neighborhood on Halloween. Man, we were such dorks.

9. I once spent New Year's Eve in a wetsuit. I'd gone to the party in a black dress that was a little too tight (too many holiday cookies) and when I went to sit down, the dress ripped up the back completely. Can we all say, mortified? The problem was, my friends were moving out of their house-everything was packed and on a truck-and there was nothing I could put on . . . but a wetsuit that they still had tacked to the wall. I spent the rest of the party maneuvering through throngs of people feeling like a giant squid.

10. I got married in Florence, Italy. My husband and I were in love but totally broke, so we eloped and got married in Italy, where he was going on a business trip. We had to pull a guy off the street to be our witness. It was incredibly romantic. Florence is still one of my favorite cities in the world.

11. I often write in longhand and type it into the computer later, editing as I go. Sitting in my favorite coffeehouse with a new notebook and a hot cup of java is my idea of heaven.

12. I'm related to Davy Crockett on my mom's side. Honest.

13. I grew up doing theatre and spent a long time as a playwright. I still think very visually when I write.

14. Some of my favorite movies of all time (subject to change when I think of other movies I love) are All About Eve, Brazil, Blade Runner, Spinal Tap, Citizen Kane, Harold & Maude, To Kill a Mockingbird, Singin' in the Rain, and probably a million more that I can't think of right now. I have never made it through The Wizard of Oz without crying. Not once.

15. Naming my favorite books feels like naming a favorite child-impossible. But here's my list of some Y.A. books I love as of 4:03pm today. Tithe by Holly Black. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Lord of the Flies by William Golding. 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (not really Y.A. but I read it when I was 16 and it rocked my world). Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Here's what's on my nightstand to read: The First Part Last by Angela Johnson. Acceleration by Graham McNamee. The Literary Opus of Daniel Elam by Daniel Elam. By the Time You Finish this Book You Might Be Dead by Aaron Zimmerman.

16. I love to be scared. Not "hey, I think I smell smoke . . ." scared, but creepy, paranoid, what's-that-out-there-in-the-dark, ghost story scared. It's no surprise that I was the girl who got invited to the slumber parties because I could be counted on to tell a tale to scare the bejesus out of you.

17. In homage to a book I just read entitled, FIVE MEN WHO BROKE MY HEART, I submit: The first boy who broke my heart (age 6) didn't want to sit next to me because I'd wet my pants in reading circle once and he thought I was gross. Damn my small bladder! The second boy who broke my heart (age 16) was a drummer with a band (the start of a trend, folks...) and he threw me over for a really cool chick I couldn't even bring myself to hate. The third boy who broke my heart (ages 20--24, ay yi yi . . .) was a strapping hunk of bodaciousness with the mind of Einstein. We had the exact same birthday, same year and everything. So the time he forgot to wish me a happy birthday was kind of the beginning of the end, I think. The fourth boy who broke my heart (age 25) was also a drummer. I had to stop with the drummers. The fifth boy . . . well, I married him, and if he breaks my heart, I'm going to burn all his favorite, rare import punk vinyl in the middle of the living room, so he's been warned.

18. I'm one of those people who has to write. If I don't write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already.

19. My Pennsylvania Dutch great-great-great grandmother was supposedly a psychic who could see and speak to the dead. Sort of a witch, I guess. Her husband was an undertaker, and she would have these visions of someone bringing in a string of a particular size (people were measured for their coffins in this way) and it would come true. Creepy stuff, but fascinating.

20. If I were stuck on a deserted island, the five indispensable CDs I'd take would be London Calling by the Clash, Quadrophenia by The Who, Aretha Franklin's Greatest Hits, To Venus and Back by Tori Amos, and Elvis Costello's Greatest Hits.

21. I hate doughnuts. Weird but true.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best YA book of 2012! October 23, 2012

By Evie Seo (Bookish blog)

Format:Hardcover

Intelligent, complex and historically accurate, The Diviners in a riveting tale that plumbs the depths of human wickedness brought about by religious fanaticism and fascination with the occult. The blend of tension, charm, creepiness, atmosphere and characterization come together to ensure this to be an absorbing and intellectually stimulating experience. This is an absolutely phenomenal book and one of the best of the year thus far. An indisputable must-read for anyone who enjoys a thoroughly bone-chilling story set against well researched historical backdrop.

Set in the Roaring Twenties in New York City, The Diviners tells the story of a group of young people investigating a series of gruesome occult-based murders. Something dark and powerful has been unleashed in New York, an evil force determined to bring about an apocalypse. People are being murdered - their body parts missing - and it all seems to follow a very disturbing pattern suggesting that the murderer is trying to finish a dark ritual started many years ago. A ritual that will unleash hell on earth and destroy everything. When Evie is shipped off to New York to live with her Uncle Will, the last thing she expects is to find herself right in the middle of a terrifying murder case. Instead of attending glamorous parties and enjoying vibrant New York life, she now has to deal with a psycho-ghost intent on carrying out his evil plan. Will her special powers help catch the killer? Or will the killer get to her first?

Evie (or as Theta calls her, Evil) is a fascinating character. Bold, attention-loving, dauntless, unpredictable, loud-mouthed and quick-witted, she's an unstoppable force, a real tornado of a girl. She's a troublemaker. She doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut and rarely listens to anyone else, especially her parents and uncle . She doesn't back down from anybody and isn't easily intimidated. She's curious (sometimes a little bit too much for her own good), intelligent, snarky and pos-i-tute-ly energetic. All in all, she's a fine example of a reckless, fun-loving, convention-breaking flapper gal. On top of that, she is also a diviner, a person with a special ability. Evie's special talent allows her to tell people's secrets just by holding an objects that belongs to them and concentrating on it. Her extraordinary personality makes it extremely fun to follow her adventures. I instantly connected with her and wanted to get to know her better. She is my kind of heroine and I can't wait to meet her again.

All the characters in The Diviners - and it's a rather large cast - are beautifully fleshed out, vibrant and intriguing. They possess great qualities - their behaviour, motivations and reactions to events taking place around them are realistic and the range of emotions they show is quite incredible. I found them convincing, three-dimensional, and easy to care about. Some characters I liked more than others, but overall each one of them had a role to play - even if only a minor one - and they all seemed essential to the plot. I appreciated the diversity of cultural and social backgrounds that these characters came from and the fact that these were not your stereotypical, embellished YA heroes and heroines, but rather real teenagers, with real problems, dreams and fears. Misfits who struggled through life, drank, cried, worried and lied. I also liked the fact that the romance part of the story was almost non existent and all the romantic plot threads took a back seat to the main storyline.

At nearly 600-pages-long, this behemoth of a novel offers an insightful, compelling narrative, a meticulously researched historical and cultural background, a completely mind-blowing world-and-character building, and a disturbing story line that is sure to send chills down your spine. Could this book have been shorter? Perhaps. Would I want it to be shorter? Absolutely no. I loved every detail, every little nuance that Libba Bray weaved into the plot. They all added depth to the story and helped recreate the unique atmosphere of 1920s New York. In the Author's Note, Bray talks about the many hours spent pouring over books, photographs and various other sources that went into creating the world of The Diviners and I can't help but to feel impressed with how fabulous a job she did. She has breathed life into this story, these characters and settings. She made me forget about the real world for a while and lose myself in the world of flappers, vibrant city life, hobble skirts, first automobiles, jazz and petting parties. And it was swell! Everything - from the slang words and outfits to the social movements and politics of that time period - was fantastic. I really couldn't have loved this book more! So don't let the size of this book intimidate you, once you get sucked into the story you'll be in a real page-turning frenzy!

All in all, The Diviners is an accomplished novel and a very exciting new YA series that is as ambitious and intelligent as it is entertaining and downright scary! I highly recommend it!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pos-i-tute-ly divine September 25, 2012

By thehydrogenpoptart

Format:Hardcover

First Sentence: In a town house at a fashionable address on Manhattan's Upper East Side, every lamp blazes.

A Quick Synopsis: Evangeline O'Neill has been exiled from her idyllic hometown of Zenith, Ohio and shipped off to New York City. The time is 1926, a time filled with new theater breakthroughs and secret speakeasies, set against a hustling and bustling background. Living with her Uncle Will, who has an obsession with the occult, Evie worries he'll discover her secret power that got her banished from Ohio in the first place. But it just so happens that her power could help catch a serial killer that's just begun terrorizing New York City recently. As Evie takes on the challenge of defeating the killer, can her New York friends help her complete the task?

The Review: I've always known Libba Bray as an extremely original and adaptable author. What other author can you name that follows up a Victorian historical trilogy with a book about mad cow disease with a trashy role model? And then, don't even mention the fact that she followed THAT up with a satirical novel about "beauty queens"...Unfortunately, though, I've also always known Ms. Bray as an author who takes a relatively long time to release novels. So as I combed through the pages of Amazon, not expecting another Libba Bray book until 2013, The Diviners smacked me in the face, and I could not have been more delighted to know that I would not have to wait so long.

Libba Bray returns to the genre she debuted in, historical fiction with a flair of the supernatural, with The Diviners. Now, before I read The Diviners, if a random guy in the street came up to me and asked me what I found more interesting: Victorian England (as in Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy) or the Roaring Twenties in America (as in here, The Diviners), I'd have answered without a doubt, Victorian England. But The Diviners is making me think twice about that question. Bray literally brings the setting to life. She makes it much more interesting that I'd ever imagined it could be. The entire atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties is there. I'd just happened to read the pages in my textbook on the 1920s the day before, and there are tiny little details in the book that are perfect for you history nerds--for example, the trials of Sacco and Vanzetti.

Bray succeeds in both creating a great quantity of characters as well as a quality cast of characters. The main star of the book is undoubtedly Evie, but the surrounding characters bring a great amount of depth into the story. There's Theta, a Ziegfeld girl with a terrible past; Memphis, who may be more similar to Evie than he thinks; Jericho, a student who's lost more than anyone realises; Mabel, Evie's best friend; even Uncle Will and the antagonist of the story...the list goes on and on. If I had to describe the characters in one word it would be: fascinating.

The plot is rich and suspenseful. Bray fills the pages up with chases, murders, visions, arrests, action and adventure, thrills and chills, cliffhangers, shocking secrets, heartbreaking revelations, and much more. The Diviners is well-paced even though it clocks in at a hefty 578 pages, and I finished it within the span of two days. The best part is that, even though The Diviners is only the first in a series, the ending wraps things up nicely. So The Diviners both stands out from the rest of the pack and stands alone by itself solidly.

The writing is astoundingly good. We all know that Bray can write--after all, she is a recipient of the prestigious Printz Award, but wow, have you ever seen her write like this? For once, I didn't mind an author's pages and pages and pages of description in a book, I even looked forward to it! It's elegant and never feels overdone or awkward. Bray evokes a wide assortment of emotions, and it's an amazing experience. Some reading The Diviners may feel that the book could have been shorter, but I disagree--I think it's fine just the length it is, allowing us to get to know the world and the characters more.

Overall, I cannot recommend The Diviners highly enough. Libba Bray has crafted a captivating story and an enchanting world that you never want to leave from! This will certainly go on my Best Books of 2012 list, and just may be the best historical of 2012. It's a grand, sweeping, dazzling achievement. That sequel can't come soon enough--maybe that's the book I'll be waiting for in 2013? I simply can't wait for it any longer!

Memorable Quote: Evie slipped the key into her handbag. She hadn't had a key back in Zenith; her every move had been monitored by her parents. Things would be different here. Things would be perfect. She went to hug Uncle Will, who stuck out his hand for a shake.
"Welcome to New York, Evie."

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Paranormal Historical Fiction September 18, 2012

By Amanda TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

So, I never read Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy (there's many a friend, book blogger and book addict who would tell me that I'm missing out), but I did read her book Beauty Queens, which sent me rolling on the floor with laughter. I just could not get over the sheer wit and utter ridiculous satirical nature of that book. From that moment on I was hooked. I had to devour every future Bray title. Now, I was a little surprised when I saw that her new series, The Diviners, was more of a historical fiction novel mixed with the supernatural -but it sounded like so much fun, so I couldn't say no.

In The Diviners, readers are introduced to young Evie O'Neill, a recent transplant from small-town Ohio to the glamorous world of 1920s New York, who has come to live with her uncle at a rather strange museum known as The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. Soon after settling into her new life, Evie falls in with a rather...unorthodox crowd -an ambitious Ziegfried Follies girl named Theta who is hiding a dark past, a mysterious student known as Jericho, and a young African-American man named Memphis who is battling the prejudices of the time. After a string of occult-based murders sets off a city-wide panic (and media frenzy) Evie and her uncle are brought in to help solve the case, and it is only with the help of Evie's new friends (and her strange abilities) that the mystery can be solved.

Wow. Just wow -I think that's the first thing that comes to mind when I think back on this book. It was freaking amazing. Just completely engrossing, incredibly well-written and offered an elaborate maze of twists and turns that kept me glued to every single page! I thoroughly enjoyed the 1920s backdrop, and Bray did an excellent job of bringing that period to life while expertly weaving in this fascinating exploration of the occult and some of the strange societal obsessions at the time with seances, superstition and other supernatural things. I even thought her depiction of religion and occultism offered a unique parallel description of a time and society caught between the two (though it may offend some more conservative readers).

Probably the best way to describe this rather genre-bending book is as something of a 1920s police procedural/mystery with a heavy dose of occultism, crazy serial killers, a dash of the supernatural, a hint of romance and some thriller elements. Not that Diviners really needs a explanation -this book truly is in a genre of its own. It completely stands alone from the pack (in my humble opinion) and was truly remarkable. The only tiny, tiny bit of criticism I have for this book is that it just seems a little long -maybe it could have used a little more editing, but it wasn't a significant enough issue that it really bothered me.

If you're looking for a fantastic read, look no further. Diviners is one of the most compelling books I've read all year. Do yourself a favor and pick it up -trust me, it's worth it.