One of my pleasant memories of the pandemic was participating in the “Sooz Your Own Adventure” aka the book whose plot was determined by a daily Twitter poll. So when I heard the author would be releasing a novel version of it, I had some hesitation. After all, Twitter hive mind led to some occasional, uh, interesting choices, as well as lots of #ughJay hilarity. But this book is mostly completely rewritten, not to mention it’s only part of the story.
After her dad was revealed as a traitor to the Luminaries, Winnie and her family were banished from the order. The Luminaries are responsible for dealing with the creatures, called nightmares, that appear in the forest every night. Considering that nearly everyone in Hemlock Falls was involved in the secretive group, that made for a lonely past four years. Her only hope is to take the first of the Hunter Trials on her sixteenth birthday and convince them to take her back. But the forest is nothing like she remembers it and neither are the Luminaries. When Winnie sees evidence of strange things happening in the forest, no one believes her, except for Jay, the town bad boy and her former best friend. With a new nightmare lurking in the forest and little help, can Winnie survive the Trials?
Some of the world building as definite promise. The hunters are divided into families, each taking the name (and corresponding hunting night) of a day of the week. Each family specializes in certain things, whether that’s training the next generation of hunters, developing new gear, or managing the bureaucracy. While the Luminaries are focused on containing the spirit in the forest by ridding it of nightmares every night, another group, the Dianas, seek to use its power for their own ends. The Dianas were the weakest part of the world-building for me, as it’s never quite explained why they’re so evil. The “never quite explained” bit is unfortunately true of the rest of the world-building, though. How do they manage to keep their towns so secret? How do they manage family trees when literally everyone has one of seven last names? Why is the position of Lead Hunter so important?
“She belongs in the forest. She belongs as a Luminary. She belongs as a hunter.”
Part of that could be explained by Winnie’s character. At times, Winnie read a lot younger to me than sixteen. Of course, she’s suffered without any friends for the past four years, watching her family fall further into poverty while her mother works herself to exhaustion. But the Wednesday line prides itself on loyalty and Winnie never seems to question her family’s banishment, instead rebuking herself for not realizing her dad was a Diana. She trains by herself in secret and refuses to accept any future for herself that doesn’t involve her being a hunter. Of course she accepts the Luminaries’ worldview without any questions as she’s never known anything else!
“So what if last night didn’t go according to plan? So what if everyone was right and she hadn’t been ready for the forest? She still got what she wanted and what her family needed. There’s no reason not to keep going.”
It’s only when she passes the first trial that her thinking starts to change. After four years of shunning, the rest of the Luminaries suddenly act like the intervening four years never happened. She’s welcomed back into hunter training, the kids who were bullying her a few days ago now act like her best friends and her mom and brother get job promotions. It’s exactly what she wanted to happen, but the whiplash is too much for Winnie. Why does she have to risk her life – because Winnie does nearly die, several times – before they decide her dad’s actions don’t matter anymore? How could her supposed best friends have turned their backs on her four years ago? Why is she so unhappy even though she everything she thought she wanted?
“It is disconcerting that he can be so extremely well-proportioned while also being, ugh, Jay.”
After she’s welcomed back, Winnie also starts connecting (or reconnecting) with some of the Luminaries. Some of the other prospective hunters reach out to her, but there’s still a distinct chilliness between her and one of her former best friends, Erica, that leaves Winnie hurt and confused. But the biggest chunk of time is spent with her other former best friend, Jay – who’s also her former crush. There’s the barest start of a romantic relationship, along with a lot of anger and confusion, because he falls somewhere on the enemy to friend spectrum but she still trusts him, even though it’s obvious Jay’s keeping secrets of his own.
The plot was fine as well. What it says in the blurb? That’s exactly what you get, Winnie trying to make it through the three hunter trials. It felt like there was a lot of choreographing of future plot points. I’m not sure whether that’s because I knew the original plot (so I have a general idea of where this version might be headed) or if it really was that predictable. Some things were so blatantly obvious that I was banging my head against the wall going “ugh, Winnie”. All that – and the fact that it’s told in third-person present tense – could be forgiven because I honestly enjoyed the majority of the story, except for this last point. The ending was ridiculously abrupt, like I kept trying to turn the page on my ereader in confusion. In a way, it makes logical sense where the book ends, but the structure of the book and the pacing left me hanging. Most (almost all) of the subplots are unresolved, including one introduced near the end of the book. It felt unfinished in a way that really rubbed me wrong.
“You either trust the forest or you don’t, Winnie.”
Overall, 3.5 nostalgic stars. Without that nostalgia, this would be more solidly a three thanks to that ending. Either way, I know I’ll read the next book just because I want some resolution to, uh, any of the plot points.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
![The Luminaries by [Susan Dennard]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41l0Ut4VhWL._SY346_.jpg)
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
- Read with Our Free App
-
Audiobook
$0.00 - 27 Used from $8.25 29 New from $9.49
- 1 New from $12.99
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
This was a quick and exciting read, with a fully fleshed out world and characters I loved (and loved to hate). I enjoyed every minute of reading this story.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
m
great premise and characters, action sequences not so much
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 12, 2022
Friederike Buch&Gewitter
Fantastischer Reihenauftakt!
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on January 24, 2023
Maria Pilar Albarran Ruiz
Atmospheric & fun, the perfect first book in a new trilogy!
Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on November 2, 2022Caro R.
Amazing paranormal fantasy!!
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on December 3, 2022
Caro R.
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on December 3, 2022
Images in this review
