The Luminaries - Susan Dennard

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

From the cover:

"Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you. Only the Luminaries, a society of ancient guardians, stand between humanity and the nightmares of the forest that rise each night.

Winnie Wednesday, an exile from the Luminaries, is determined to restore her family's good name by taking the deadly hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday. But when she turns to her ex best friend Jay Friday for help, they 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."

📚📚📚 

The synopsis provided is for the first book in this trilogy; however, this review is for the trilogy as a whole. I posted a review for the first book after I read it but never reviewed the second book...I don't think...so now that I've finished the whole thing, I figured why not review it all? For those of you who don't want to go back and read the first review, I shared that this trilogy is extra special for me because the author did a "Sooz" your own adventure thing on Twitter during the pandemic, which ultimately led to her reviving the manuscript and it getting published. It was such a cool thing to do and the sense of community from it was beautiful, and it just all warms my heart. Also, fun fact, the synopsis in that review is different than this one, so that's interesting.

For the record, I also speculated about whether there was enough backstory and connecting information in the book for people who didn't follow the Twitter adventure to still follow this story, and I asked for volunteers who hadn't been a part of Sooz Your Own Adventure to read book one (for science!). Courageous adventurer that they are, my sister volunteered, and it turned out it's a solid story whether or not you're familiar with the Twitter adventure (read her review here!). 

There is a bit of a learning curve initially as you get up to speed with the structure of the world, but what fantasy doesn't come with a bit of a learning curve, right? Fortunately, once you've got a handled on the mist and the nightmares and all the Luminary houses and what the Dianas are, there are totally no questions at all and everything is super straightforward and not at all stressful.

Hahaha just kidding, this trilogy is so stressful! That's not a knock, though, because it's in the best way. You start off and all you really know is that Winnie, her brother, and her mom got kicked out of the Luminaries after their dad was caught doing magic and revealed to be a Diana. Winnie is convinced he was framed and has a plan for getting their family reinstated to the Luminaries and hopefully ultimately finding a way to prove his innocence. From there, the more you learn, the less you know. Every reveal led to more and more questions, and up until the last couple of chapters, I still was like "ahhhhhh what is HAPPENING?!"

There were so many small details that had to be tied together, and in the end, all the endless questions paid off in a big way. I thought things wrapped up really well, and I can't wait to read this trilogy again and connect dots I know I missed on my first read-through.

Race to the Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

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

From the cover:

"Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her.

When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run," the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Din Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be..."

In a post-Hercules (the Disney movie, not the TV show with garbo Kevin Sorbo) world, I was a kid very into mythology, so I loved Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan's other fantasy series focusing on Greek and Roman mythology. I'm thrilled that there are now so many books like this one coming out that tell stories from the mythology of other cultures - it's high time! I also particularly love this story for including a main character and sidekicks that, while smart and resourceful, are not necessarily physically strong or skilled. Nizhoni is learning and getting more confident, but she also has much more in common with real-life kids her age than many of the hero protagonists I've read about, and I love that she's a character that kids will really get to see themselves in (particularly her goal at the beginning of the book of becoming Internet famous!).

I do wish the pace of the action was slightly faster, but that said, I really enjoyed the main cast of characters - Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery, with honorable mention going to Mr. Yazzi - as well as how fully Nizhoni's quest centered around Navajo legends and how central the Diné Holy People were to each part of the quest. This book left me wanting more, and I was going to say that I can't wait for more books about Nizhoni, but then I looked it up and discovered that this is a standalone book. So...I guess I can't wait to read more Rebecca Roanhorse!

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!)