YAck Attack: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...  (goodreads.com)

Just a note on the coming GRACELING YAcks, we deviated from our norm.  BITTERBLUE was the original YAck book for the month but it quickly morphed into a re-read of the series, which we will be YAcking in its entirety.  So GRACELING replaced BITTERBLUE as June's YAck book and then the coming FIRE and BITTERBLUE will be bonus YAcks.  Because love.

Nicole: BITTERBLUE it is! Let's do this thing.

Donna: Good thing I started reading Graceling.

Angie: Now, the question is: reread, or just try and remember what I thought of it....

Nicole: If I'm right, it's good enough to reread.

Donna: I want to start a drinking game wherein you drink every time Katsa's name is said in dialogue in Graceling. The first person to survive alcohol poisoning wins.

Laura: Funny, I wanted to do the same thing with the last book I read, Three Weeks with Lady X. But instead of a name it was anytime anything was said about the hero's COCK. It was horrible. I'd be so dead.

Laura: Also.....watch your step when saying anything that even hints of negativity when it comes to Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue, or indeed, even Cashore's grocery list. I WILL CUT YOU OUT OF THE WILL.

Laura: YOU WILL FUCKING LEARN TO LOVE THAT BOOK AND LIKE IT MISSY.

Nicole: I'm the most excited. We should all lie and say we hate it and watch Laura explode.

Laura: Curses. I curse anyone who dislikes the book with a wet, stinky, cat hair ball right smack dab in the middle of their pillow.

Laura: After a long day of work.....when your head is hurting....and it's dark and cool in the bedroom.....and all you want to do is climb into the bed...just for a few minutes.....and then...HAIRBALL. I curse you with that.

Sya: I cannot lie. I love them too much. I highly recommend the audio versions, also - brilliantly narrated, especially Fire.

Laura: Oooooh I want the audiobooks. Want.

Nicole: Let's just read the entire series yes good

Donna: I don't dislike it. But I'm not falling over myself about it at this point. It's okay. Nothing's really grabbing me yet. *shakes cat and aims*

Laura: WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU. HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW can you NOT LOVE THE MAGIC THAT COMES FROM CASHORE'S HEAD?!?!? WE ARE FINISHED. DONE. WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS ANYMORE. I NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY. I ALSO SLEPT WITH YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH AND THAT'S WHY HE DUMPED YOU RIGHT BEFORE PROM.

Laura: Some of that may or may not be true.

Angie: I'll talk to you once you've finished FIRE, Donna.

Donna: Laura will never leave me. I know her secrets. I keep them in a box out of her reach. So on the counter.

Laura: Well then I'm safe because the counter is out of your reach too, midget.

Donna: Steve lifts me up to get it.

Angie: It's moments like this when I realize just how much I love us.

Donna: Katsa is incredibly endearing.

Angie: Right?

Donna: Like as I'm reading it I'm like OMG YOU *pinches cheeks*. I LOLed at the whole DON'T LOOK AT HIS HOT WET BOD BLANK PAGES BLANK PAGES moment.

Angie: LOVE THAT MOMENT

Donna: Part 2 is really making me like the book more.

Sya: Are we reading all three? Jolly good. Also, we need to include this whole discussion in the published YAck.

Nicole: I will, because this is too beautiful to skip.

Donna: Good thing I just reserved the other two from the library.

Chachic: Damn, my copies of all three books are in Manila.

Sya: Having read the first two relatively recently, I am listening to Bitterblue right now this minute on my way to work. The narrator is SO GOOD. Sooooo Gooooood. Also, I am calling RA as Giddon RIGHT NOW.

Heidi: Maybe this is the fire under my ass I needed to read Fire which has been sitting on my shelf for too long.

I always avoided these audio because they're full cast.

Sya: The prologue to Fire is utterly chilling. I literally shivered while reading the final paragraph.

Laura: Read slowly people. You'll get all caught up in the Graceling realm and then all three books will be finished and there won't be another one FOREVER. We should probably do this YAck over the next 2-3 years.

Nicole: We could do a chapter readalongs style for each book? Or divide it by section? We'd get to talk about it longer...

Donna: SPREAD IT OUT. We could do our normal YAcks and then do these in the middle.

Nicole: I'd be happy to catalog them all.

Angie: OH that's a GREAT idea! I've got piles of reading, and really want to reread them all, but the idea of doing it in the next month was stressing me a bit...

Nicole: So we do GRACELING this month, FIRE next month and BITTERBLUE the month after for those who want to participate?

Angie: It can be a summer reading project!

Donna: Do it.

Heidi: I'm in. Perhaps this will pry me out of my complete nose dive into romance.

Angie: I call RA as Brigan in Fire. BRIGAN IN FIRE, I SAY.

Sya: You're right. More broody and suitable. But Giddon must be someone lovely.

Angie: Someone lovely indeed. Tom Hiddleston?

Nicole: Is Brigan / Giddon white? I haven't started my reread of GRACELING yet (and haven't read FIRE, shame on me) and since there are a lot of people of color as protags in her stories, I want to makes sure!

Sya: Pretty sure they both are. Certainly, I think Giddon is fair haired.

Donna: JUST TAKE MY HEART. TAKE IT. BITTERBLUE YOU HAVE STOLEN MY SOUL.

Nicole: I CAN'T TELL IF YOU'VE READ ALL THREE BOOKS THAT FAST OR IF YOU'RE JUST THAT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE SERIES.

Angie: Which is it, Donna?! Bitterblue in GRACELING or all 3 books?!

Maureen: Really? So you're leaving Po AND Brigan for me? K then

Angie: Ahem. For us, you mean. For us, Maureen

Donna: Graceling.

Sya: So Donna has finished Graceling and felt actual feelings. Does this mean we can start the YAck proper or is everyone wishing to re-read it first?

Nicole: I can't reread it until post-BEA madness, but we can start the proper YAck of Graceling now if you can start the thread, Sya.

Chachic: I want to reread it too but not sure when I'll be able to do so. But yeah, go ahead and start the conversation.

Donna: Am I the only one that just read it for the first time?

Sandy: no, I'll be reading it for the first time too.

Laura: I'm on page 90 of my reread where Po just mouthed "Forgive me" because of his exchange with Giddon. And I love him so. Already. All over again.

Laura: I just finished my reread of Graceling. Is this where we're talking about it, or is it in another post? I love Po. I love Po. I love Po. I think I love him most of all. I love brave, stubborn Katsa, running through the snow, carrying Bitterblue over the mountain pass. And I love Katsa who discovers she actually wants love but without the trappings of marriage and children. But I love Po who wants her any way he can have her and truly, truly means it. I love Po who hides who he is so that he doesn't hurt those that he loves. I love Po who sees a world no one else can. And I love Bitterblue who is remarkably practical for a ten year old orphan queen. BUT I LOVE PO. SO MUCH LOVE.

Po has dark hair. Motion for RA to play Po and further motion for RA to play any and all good parts in the remainder of these readings.

I love this book now even more than I did the first go round when I didn't think it was possible to love it more. THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE, is why we read.

Sya: Motion passed. Now he can play ALL THE GOOD PARTS.

Nicole: Mid Graceling reread and oh my god I forgot how beautifully Cashore handles everything. The gender norms and how Katsa sees them and the sex scenes (!!!! they're so beautifully handled) and just everything EVERYTHING IS GOOD excuse me while i go cry because HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO READ OTHER THINGS EVER AGAIN

Angie: My oldest had an astute observation when I commented that I'd forgotten how much I adore Katsa and Po. She said: "They're not in a relationship. They're on a team." So very true.

Nicole: YES EXACTLY and they're friends first and foremost which is SO IMPORTANT i should not be commenting until i can control my emotions

Angie: LOL! No Nicole, emotions are everything. I agree. Cashore depicts their relationship -- a HEALTHY, wonderful, amazing relationship -- so, so well. And when this came out in 2009, amid all the Twilight stuff, it was SO refreshing.

Donna: It's still refreshing, are you kidding me? When it really anchored its claws into my heard is when Katsa realizes what Po's been hiding toward the end of the book. OMG WEEP.

Laura: PO. Just, PO. I mean...PO. PO. REALLY. You understand? You get it, right? PO.

Laura: ALSO, THIS COVER

Nicole: I've been reading this and wondering how I forgot how much I loved Po. Seriously. How has he not made my list of favorite male characters?Nicole: LADIES WITH SWORDS MAKE ME HAPPY

Laura: AND THIS

Laura: AND THIS ONE

Nicole: We could rename the Yackers the Kristin Cashore Fanclub and it would still be accurate, I think.

Angie: I've been quietly pining over those UK editions for yeeeeeaaaarrrssss.

Maureen: PO. Yes. I will have your heterochromatic babies, Po, you charming rogue you. But not, 'cause I'm askeered of Katsa.

Maureen: Slightly seriously - wow, she can really come off as cold and humorless in the beginning. Not a slam on her (woot! I can kill people with my pinky I AM A BARREL OF LAUGHS), just an observation. I'm listening to it and I'm just at the point where Po attended his first Council meeting, and I don't remember if Giddon had a good reasonable reason for not wanting her face hurt, or was just being a jealous buttmunch.

Nicole: GRACELING AU where Giddon's official council title after Katsa leaves is Jealous Buttmunch. Though that could be canon.

Angie: Katsa is very angsty in the beginning of the book, but I think that's partially what makes the end work so very well. Also: LECK. I remember this from the first time around, the building creepy surrounding him, as Po whittles away the layers surrounding his story. There are very few characters in fiction that are as deeply disturbed and wholly evil as Leck. It's wonderful.

Laura: Yes. Leck is scary. He's even scary AFTER. Also, PO!

Angie: Laura, I'm trying to be intelligent here...

Laura: Po!

Laura: I'm just going to shout that randomly, throughout the conversation, because I have no words, ONLY FEELINGS.

Nicole: Just finished my reread and I want to run through my rain-filled streets screaming out all the reasons I love this book. But I think somebody would arrest me.

Angie: Leck still haunts me.

Sya: Who is it that's listening to the audio? I can't see it now in the thread - but doesn't the narrator just GET it? And, yes PO! But don't diss Giddon. I MEAN IT. Katsa is an amazingly written character. The point at which they flee over the mountain pass is totally breathtaking, largely because of both her belief in herself and her belief in Po's perception of her. And Donna, that bit where she realises what has happened to Po made me cry. More than once.

Maureen: I'm listening to the full cast and liking it. Anytime they mention Leck a chill goes down my spine because it's so clear how thoroughly he has everyone snowed.

Angie: What Maureen said. Seriously. Chills.

Donna: I wasn't thrilled with Katsa at the beginning, hence my original apprehension with the book. And then Po makes her become HUMAN with the FEELS and I'm like

Maureen: Just hit the part where Katsa discovers the real nature of Po's Grace. Cogitating on why Katsa is so angry. Thoughts?

Laura: Oh that's an easy one- aside from the intrusion and the fact that he was kinda taking her thoughts without permission and Katsa isn't one to have ANY part of her defenseless....I have NO doubt she was picturing him naked. And THAT'S the real reason.

Laura: She was embarrassed because there stood before her a perfectly naked Richard Armitage Po and her mind was on his naughty bits.

Nicole: That's literally it. She has FEELINGS for him that even she doesn't understand until that point and he KNOWS. Her crush KNOWS and not only that KNOWS EVERYTHING VERY SPECIFICALLY like how she likes his forearms and his eyes. Which is embarrassing for her, especially given that this is her first time with these sorts of emotions. (I think Po also has darker skin? Golden. And thus cannot be Richard. I'll have to go see if I can find a passage that confirms it or if I'm imagining things.)

Laura: Motion was already passed to have RA play all the good parts. Someone read back the minutes. It's on the books now. Richard can have whatever color skin he needs to, such is the power of our king.

Laura: Also, Po!

Maureen: I think that's a big part of it, but nearer to the beginning she encounters another mind reader and her reaction is almost vicious. I'm trying to work out why that Grace specifically is such a hot button for her. Nobody would be comfortable with it but she actively loathes mind readers of any stripe

Donna: Well she is rather guarded and plays her cards closely to her chest. For years she's been a killer and that's it. She hasn't admitted any other human emotions to herself for most of her life until Po comes into it. So I would imagine to have her secrets, secrets that she won't even admit to herself, laid bare for someone to see, would be the ultimate intrusion. Someone that could show Katsa what she truly is would be horrifying indeed. She's been in IT for so long, the king's THING, that to be exposed as human would be quite painful. This isn't someone she'd want others to see so knowing that there are people out there that could just take that information and use it against her would send someone like her, someone unable to process her own emotions, into a rage because that's all she knows.

Maureen: Oo, good points. I think there's also something about her thoughts being her own property. She can't do exactly as she likes but she can think whatever she wants in the privacy of her own head without fear of Randa's reprisal (and Randa has been the wall around her life and her actions for many years, so he's who she would think of first). It's the vulnerability of being laid bare, of course, but it's also the idea of someone else taking possession of her thoughts the way Randa has always has possession over her actions and how others see her.

Laura: And the naughty bits.

Nicole: She also mentions a lot about being in control of her own life - it's why she hates and fears Leck and hated Randa. She's lived her entire life at somebody else's beck and call, completely isolated - all she had were the thoughts in her head.

Chachic: Okay, I have started rereading Graceling. That's the June book, right?

Angie: Just finished. BITTERBLUE. Breaks. My. Heart. I love her.

Heidi: DAMN YOU ALL. DAMN YOU RIGHT TO HELL. I now have less than SIX WEEKS to get everything done for my wedding. A wedding for which I decided that DIY was FUN and YES I will sew the flower girl dress and the ring bearer vest and pillow and pocket squares and handkerchiefs and make my bridesmaids bags and do all the favor bags and tags and make banners and signs and design and make programs and knit myself a lace shawl and my parents and in-laws full-sized blankets to say thank you AND MORE AND YET WHAT DID I BUY TODAY?! Graceling and Bitterblue (already owned Fire).

I wasn't planning on rereading Graceling because INSANITY ABOVE but you all keep saying things like PO and MY HEART and I CAN'T TAKE IT. Even if I don't actually get to them till August THEY ARE NOW MINE.

PO!!

Maureen: Mua ha ha ha ha!!!!!

Nicole: ... so we broke Donna AND Heidi.

Heidi: Donna having FEELS helped break me.

Laura: Po!

Donna: I am the breaker.

Angie: Heidi, I can't even handle what you are saying. I feel like I need to send you some sort of life support. Or chocolate. Maybe chocolate?

Chachic: Heidi, I agree with Angie. I feel like I should help you out but I don't know how? I'm super lousy sewing and I don't even know how to knit.

Nicole: I'm just disappointed that a milk-and-cookie bar wasn't on the list. I'm useless to you. (Sendin good karma your way, though!)

Heidi: No milk and cookie bar. Am having wedding pie (also making ourselves). Books are helping! May get lost in Cashore... May see if library has audio even though I just bought hard copies so I can task and listen.

Nicole: Heidi, you're insane and I admire you.

Janice: Good gravy, I didn't realize just how DIY you were being Heidi. I can help with the pie tastings. I do not know how to use a sewing machine so I'm useless for anything else.

Chachic: Prince Greening Grandemalion! LOL. I had forgotten Po's full name.

Chachic: I'm about halfway through and really enjoying rereading this. Just as good as I remembered it to be. It's always comforting to read an old favorite.

I agree with Maureen that Katsa thinks of her thoughts as her own property and she loathes mind readers because she feels like they steal something from her that they shouldn't. And yes, she also feels that it's unfair for her to be that exposed to someone else.

Poor Po, so difficult to have a Grace like that and to have to hide it even from his family and friends.

Heidi: I just started the audio this morning. This may be the first Full Cast audio I ever really get into. They usually grate on me and I don't make it very far, but I've forced myself past that initial buck of revulsion and am getting used to it. It's easy when I remember how much I utterly love this book! Hazel's right, it's comforting, like spending time with an old friend. And I can't believe I still haven't read Fire or Bitterblue considering how much I love Graceling!

Also Graceling may be one of the few things that makes a trip to the NY DMV less painful. 'Cause that place is like the antithesis of Disneyland.

Sya: The audio I listened to was read by Emma somebody. She had a lovely voice and made Po sound Welsh. Which suited him surprisingly well.

Laura: I sampled the full cast audio and it sounded awful...the male voice was all computery. But I just listened to the Emma Powell one and she's AMAZING but apparently you can't buy it.

Laura: it's "not available" in my "region"

Heidi: Boo, yeah, must be separate US and UK editions.

Sya: I got the Emma Powell one via Audible UK. She reads all three beautifully. You might be able to download it, er, less legally.

Heidi: Okay so yeah the full cast isn't great. It's working for a reread but I'll be dammed if I read Fire this way the first time.

It is fun to reread this already knowing about Po's grace. It changes all those earlier scenes between them

Maureen: Just got to the part where Katsa's in the mountains, just before they make that awful run through the pass, and she gets attacked by a mountain lion. And her reaction is this hilarious annoyance. "FFS. That stupid lion cut me all up. THIS I need."

Chachic: Maureen, haha I remember that scene! Bitterblue was so shocked to see her after, and she was all "I'm fine, it's mostly the lion's blood all over me."

Maureen: Bitterblue's funny, too. Sometimes she's not childlike at all, but the full-cast audio person who's doing her voice has this delightful Hermione-ish tone whenever she's taking charge. Or being snotty.

Sya: That whole sequence with the cave and then the pass is my favourite. I think it is breath-takingly written and utterly beautiful.

Chachic: I just realized that I wasn't able to comment when I finished rereading this. I stayed up late to finish it even though I already knew what was going to happen. Such a good book. I need more books like this in my life. Looking forward to rereading fire!

Heidi: Wow, it's easy to forget what a creeper Leck is. Fire's gonna be a party of douche chills.

Heidi: I really love that Katsa and Bitterblue end up having to leave Po in the mountains. It's heartwrenching (especially considering later revelations), but also really refreshing. I love that Po and Katsa make one another stronger. It's really because of Po that Katsa's mentally able to do what she does to get Bitterblue to safety, but at the same time it's so nice to have this book where there's this amazing romance but the romance doesn't define it. By leaving Po, Graceling is really and truly Katsa's book.

Also I completely forgot about Po in the end. D:

Anyway, done! I have at least two or three other books I have to read before diving into Fire, but here's hoping it gets read sometime in July.

YAck Attack: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Published: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Author: Website
Info: Goodreads

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-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.  (goodreads.com)

Donna was the Keeper of the Book this month and it appears she chose a winner.

Sya: Also, when are we talking about the Diviners?

Heidi: Oh oh, can it be now? I really wish she's finish the second one already. There are supposed to be 4 and I'm not sure I have the patience to wait a decade to read them all.

I've read all of her books, but Diviners was the first one that I something close to loved. I think she finally got the balance right between her characters/humor/story.

Oh hey! Pub date August. Yay! That may be worth going to BEA again for.

Sya: I hated A Great and Terrible Beauty and initially didn't like the idea of The Diviners. I ended up listening to the audio which has the most phenomenal narration.

Donna: Now. I'm only 50 pages in and the SETTING and the creepy. *sigh*

Sya: I was actually on pretty strong painkillers for my back for the first few nights I listened to this. I had a few deeply scary waking dreams in which I wasn't entirely sure that Naughty John was not in my house. Really.

Also, that opening passage about the wind is as close to perfect atmospheric writing as I have ever read. Just gorgeous.

Donna: *squee*

Laura: OMG WORDS. I -LOVE- WORDS.

Sya: This one certainly has words.

Chachic: Just started reading this, about 5% in and I really like the writing so far. It feels authentic for the setting - not that I know much about the 1920's. I remember reading A Great and Terrible Beauty and the sequel years ago and didn't really like them. This one seems promising.

Donna: THIS BOOK. Although I'm getting a little annoyed by Evie's constant slang but that's the only complaint I have. It's not constant so it's easier to get past.

But the book is SO CREEPY. I love it. *clutches book to chest and smiles goofily* The setting and the mood and the ambiance. I LOVE old New York anyway and Bray just nails it. She's got my head movies going good.

Sya: I think that Evie's annoying slang is grating, but intensionally so - it suits her slightly try-too-hard-wannabe-partygirl persona really well. And yes - the CREEPY! Seriously, it's horribly dark in places. The audio has the Naughty John refrain sung and it still runs round my head when thinking of the book. Eek, indeed.

Donna: Agreed. It's definitely HER and if she were a real person I'd find her incredibly annoying but I'm at a point in the story where she's kind of leveling out because Mabel just put her in her place and her focus is shifting more towards finding a murderer than partying.

Can I just say how much I love it when an author can write a haunted house story? I LOVE HAUNTED HOUSE STORIES.

Chachic: This book is REALLY creepy! I don't mind Evie's slang, I actually find it charming.

Maureen: Yeah, after gritting my teeth through about half the book on Evie's slang, I realized that it's part of her putting on a big show for the world about how cool and hip she is. Are those anachronistic terms for this book? I don't entirely like Evie, but she feels very real to me.

Oddly enough, while I appreciate the depth of the historical setting, after awhile I started to feel like Bray was showing off her research just a little too much. "LOOK. LOOK at all my research. I can state specific stores and streets from the 20s. LOOOOOOK."

Donna: Yes, Evie definitely comes off as some kind of wannabe I'M SO COOL LOOK AT ME I USE ALL THE RIGHT WORDS AND WEAR JUST THE RIGHT CLOTHES and she just wants to do what's cool now, although I feel it's a bit more than a front. She seems to actually enjoy the life she's aiming to live being a flapper and drinking. I just think her insecurities come through and she takes it to the next level with her commitment to the cause. In Ohio it was her life's mission to live like a flapper because it's what she enjoys. In New York things start to level off, especially once the bigger problem comes into play and you get to see Evie leave those things behind because she's caught up in something more than drinking and parties.

See, I LOVE old New York (Pete Hamill, anyone?) so the detail doesn't get to me at all although I can definitely see how it could get grating. Bray is VERY detailed, I think mores with the fashion of the time as opposed to New York itself. If anything that's where my hang-up is with Evie; she just uses every bit of 20s slang imaginable and while it fits her character I'm wondering how much of it is Bray showing her work. Memphis, Theta and Mabel, who are in that same scene, are much more level about it all (again, a testament to Evie's personality but the line between that and research is thin).

Maureen: Yeah, the other characters were definitely not as prone to it as Evie; probably one of the reasons I realized how it was working in the character. She kind of reminds me of Cher from Clueless. Definitely the gorgeous sparkling party girl with a good heart and slightly wonky priorities.

Melissa: I *finally* picked it up last night. And yeah: wow. It reminds me of Great and Terrible Beauty, but it's supposed to, right?

Donna: I'm not in love with the ending. The overall story arc was resolved but there are more strings left hanging than tied up. A lot was introduced throughout the course of the story and not resolved and for such a long book that's kind of aggravating. I'm such a hypocrite for saying that but at the same time I loved the book so it doesn't bother me as much as it would have if I wasn't impressed with what I was reading. I'm looking forward to reading the next one and I don't feel coerced into it.

I never read GaTB.

Heidi: Yes, I couldn't stand Evie at all, but I think the fact that there were so many other good characters in this one kind of distilled her for me in a way that made it more palatable than say Gemma Doyle? I think that Evie is really a very Libba Bray type character, but that she finally realized that those characters annoy a lot of us. Libba Bray herself has always come off as very LOOK AT ME AND HOW COOL AND HIP I AM in real life to me.

Though I'll admit I think I did enjoy the GaTB trilogy more than most people. I read it very early in my YA days, and I wonder if I read it now if I would stomach it the same way?

Love the creep factor in Diviners though. I simply devoured this one, not even noticing how long it was because omg couldn't stop.

Sandy: Jumping in briefly to say that the end to the GaTB trilogy gutted me and it took me a long time to even think about reading another Libba Bray book. KARTIK. JUST WHY.

Melissa: I never made it through the third GaTB book. I can only do so much creepy, and it was over the line for me.

Donna: If I eat the flesh of The Diviners, will I absorb it's creepy power?

Maureen: I think I read the first GATB book but gave up on the rest of the series. Was reluctant to read her others (the Printz winner, Beauty Queens, etc) because of that first experience, but wound up loving them.

Angie: I enjoyed the first GaTB book, thought the second was creeptastically fun, and then the third one went right out to lunch in the most ridiculous way possible. Still a letdown whenever I think about it. Haven't read any of hers since, though I know I probably should.

Melissa: I actually really loved both Going Bovine and Beauty Queens. Bray does creepy really well, but she also does brilliant satire and wacked out weird excellently too. She deserved the Printz she won for Going Bovine.

Nicole: Oh, oh, oh, I LOVE Beauty Queens. (I'm working my way through the Diviners slowly, I swear! I just haven't commented yet because y'all are saying much more interesting things than I.)

Chachic: I finished Diviners last night. Looks like I'm the only one who didn't like it as much as I was expecting? It had a good start but then I really didn't connect with any of the characters and I felt like the different strands of the story (Evie, Sam, Theta, Memphis, Blind Bill, etc.) weren't brought together. And like Donna said, there were some loose ends. As a result, I just wanted to finish reading the book to get to the end but I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel.

Donna: There definitely were a few story lines that weren't brought together and it was one of the reasons why I wasn't thrilled with the ending. Like Blind Bill. He was barely in the story but has one of the biggest cliffhangers. And James who's effectively a non-entity until the very end. I think she strikes a good balance and I'm able to keep track of all the characters and they're all very different from one another so I don't have a blending issue but there's A LOT going on and for as long as the book was, to have so much hanging out there at the end is a little peevish.

Chachic: Exactly. I wasn't confused by the number of the characters, I just found it annoying that there was so much at the end that wasn't explained. It felt like the book/series was trying to keep its air of mystery so readers will be left wanting more. It didn't work for me.

Sya: Y'know, I can't really remember how it ended. Hmmm. I can remember the vague gist of it and certainly how the whole creepy house climax bit worked out but as for the stuff with Jericho etc, it's all a bit fuzzy. Certainly, I had forgotten all about Blind Bill. I am clearly going to have to read it again before book two appears.

Maureen: My hold for the audio version has come in at the library. I wonder if it'll be different the second time around?

Donna: I think you'll need to re-read the ending just to see where all the various plots got left off. There are a lot of them. And it leads into finding more out the second read around because there's SO MUCH going on that I think the more subtle details will make their way through the second or third time around.

Maureen: Listening to it, I also realized that Evie is a pathological liar. Just for the hell of it. I do like her a little better this time around though. She's just arrived in the city.

Melissa: I actually didn't mind Evie. I thought she had spunk. And I was able to get past her constant slang. And you have to admit that she really came into her own at the end. (You go, girl!) But you all are also right that the ending ending dragged out and left too much unwrapped. I felt like the book should have ended a good 30 pages before it actually did. That said, it was a good creepy read. Don't know if I'll read the others, though.

Heidi: Oooh, I'll totally do the audio for a reread before I read the second book when it comes out. I don't think I would have made it through Beauty Queens in text tbqh, but I thought the audio was fantastic.

Sya: The audio is extraordinarily good. Like I said before, I couldn't get into the text at all. I also had the same issue with Beauty Queens so might give the audio a go. I kind of wonder what that says about Bray's style that two of us have struggled with her written word. Not that that is a negative thing per se, but interesting.

Heidi: It IS interesting. I think I would have enjoyed Going Bovine much more on audio as well. She does do her own narration for Beauty Queens, but she does such a great job with it. I'd be interested to hear what you think if you do give it a go!

Donna: I'm going to slap this up on the website this weekend. Any more words, say them now.

Melissa: One more thing: I totally shipped Evie and Sam. When she ended up with (spoiler) Jericho, I was actually disappointed.

Heidi: Psh, see, I LIKED Sam. I did NOT like Evie. Therefore happy. Though I like Jericho too so I suppose that doesn't add up. Also didn't want to see nice ol' what's-her-butt brokenhearted.

Melissa: LOL, Heidi. I didn't mind Evie. But Jericho fell flat. And there was NO chemistry between them (unlike with Sam). Which makes me wonder what Bray's going to do with them later.

Chachic: I thought Evie would end up with Sam too! Oh well, I wouldn't be surprised if the next book has a love triangle.

Melissa: ARGH! NOT THAT!

:)

Maureen: I didn't read that as "ending up" with Jericho. I haven't reached that part in the audiobook yet, but my impression was that she was kissing him for the hell of it, just to see what it was like. And I was Very Disappointed in her for Mabel's sake. Totally broke the Girl Code. There's much more spark with Sam, if only because they're so perfectly alike.

Donna: Agreed on the Mabel front. Evie isn't too great of a friend by the end of the book. And please, no love triangles.

Sya: Surely there won't be a love triangle. I didn't mind Jericho but he was a bit flat. Certainly, I didn't particularly care if Evie ended up with anyone. I was too busy being creeped out.

Heidi: MABEL that's what good ol' what's her butt's name was. But yeah, Evie was a real crap friend to her and I liked her. I do agree it's too early in the series to say what way any connections will go. Hopefully no love triangles. LB hasn't done it before so I trust!

Donna: You all fail. How is it that the one person that doesn't give a flying dick about RA reminds the court to name a role for the king? The post is on hold until you all come to your senses and get your jobs done.

Maureen: !

Will. Maybe it's the voice the narrator is using, but DAYUM. So Uncle Will is RA.

Melissa: You only remembered, Donna, because you're posting it. :) I second Maureen's suggestion.

Donna: You're right. My amount of caring otherwise would have been nil. Do we have a third? Say?

Sya: I concur.

Heidi: I'm really going to have to listen to this audio as my mental image of Will has just been VASTLY changed.

Donna: Yeah, pretty much. Not what I considered Will to look like at all. Naughty John, maybe . . .

Sya: DONNA! Don't be mean.

Maureen: Well, that's downright unsettling. Also possibly valid . . .

Sya: MAUREEN! Don't encourage her.

Maureen: Am I a troublemaker now? Excellent!

Donna: So RA can never be a villain?

Nicole: RA makes the best villains. Have you seen BBC's Robin Hood? He's the only good part - a villain clad in all leather.

Donna: You're asking me if I've seen anything with RA in it . . .

I think he'd be a better fit for Naughty John. A charismatic, sociopathic, homicidal ghost bent on turning people to his flock and ruling the world. Or stodgy Uncle Will.

Maureen: Stodgy, maybe, but with the tragic past. Man can rock a tragic past.

Sya: Ok. Donna wins this one largely because I think that Knight of our Realm, Tom Hiddleston is a better fit for Uncle Will.