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| Image: LBYR |
The King of Crows by Libba Bray. Diviners Series #4. 560 p. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, February, 2020. 9780316532624. (Review of book borrowed from public library.)
Teen Tuesday features The King of Crows by Libba Bray. This book concludes the paranormal quartet that started ten years ago with The Diviners. This series is not for the faint of heart. The books are massively long (over 500 pages in each, with one weighing in at nearly 600). The stories contain quite a bit of violence and are absolutely terrifying, but rich in history. The 1920s New York City setting of the first three books is quite vivid and the characters are flawed and memorable.
Wanted by the U.S. government and still hunted by the Shadow Men, the Diviners have to leave the city in search of a girl in Nebraska who has contacted Isiah telepathically. The friends get separated and what ensues is basically a road trip across America showing some of the uglier sides of our history - the rampant racism and sexism that oppressed people of color and women. Henry, Memphis and Bill head to New Orleans on a train; Jericho and Ling hide out with a traveling all-girl jazz band; and Evie, Theta, Isiah and Sam join a traveling circus. Mature teen readers who have read the first three books will not be disappointed.
I fell in love with this book on page one. Even though it was forever since Before the Devil Takes you and longer since I gobbled up an arc of The Diviners, I picked up with Evie and her crew immediately. Bray has the ability to immerse the reader in the world she has created. Her writing is gorgeously literary yet accessible. Her characters are memorable. Some are absolutely terrifying; but you wouldn't mind grabbing a beer and hanging with others. And, her political commentary is astute in nearly all her books.
I will admit that the story did lag a bit in the middle and the man in the stovepipe hat wasn't nearly as frightening as in the earlier books. Still, I did have to read the climax through freely flowing tears. I can't wait to see what Libba Bray has planned for us next.
I fell in love with this book on page one. Even though it was forever since Before the Devil Takes you and longer since I gobbled up an arc of The Diviners, I picked up with Evie and her crew immediately. Bray has the ability to immerse the reader in the world she has created. Her writing is gorgeously literary yet accessible. Her characters are memorable. Some are absolutely terrifying; but you wouldn't mind grabbing a beer and hanging with others. And, her political commentary is astute in nearly all her books.
I will admit that the story did lag a bit in the middle and the man in the stovepipe hat wasn't nearly as frightening as in the earlier books. Still, I did have to read the climax through freely flowing tears. I can't wait to see what Libba Bray has planned for us next.
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