The Luminaries - Susan Dennard

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town - and the rest of humanity - from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night. 

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal - and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can train her: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie's ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark."

This book holds a very special place in my heart. During the pandemic, Susan Dennard used the premise of a story that had never been picked up to start a "Sooz Your Own Adventure" on Twitter. Her followers, now known as "Hivemind Winnie," voted on options and guided the story, and it went on for months, growing followers the whole time. I participated in the adventure and loved it, so when running the adventure inspired her to rework the story and submit to publishers again, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it when after she announced it had been picked up. Now it's here, it's real, and I loved every minute of it. There were so many little nods to the Twitter adventure, which were a delight, and the ending left me wanting more, more more. Also, sidenote, but I have to say for the record, if I ever got the chance to play Dungeons & Dragons with Sooz as the DM, I would LEAP at it.

While I loved the story and thought it was incredible, one thing I am curious about is if there's enough backstory and connecting information for someone who didn't participate in the adventure. It kind of reminds me of when the Harry Potter movies started coming out and I went with someone who hadn't read the books. I was like "yessss, brain melting, this is amazing!" while they were like "sure, it's a solid movie, but there were lots of things that I didn't quite understand." Would The Luminaries be as enjoyable for someone who doesn't have the additional background that came from Sooz Your Own Adventure? Or would it leave them pleased but mildly confused at times? (Taking volunteers to determine this, for science!)