The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Welcome to Hemlock Falls… where nightmares are real, and the forest is dangerous for a Luminary untrained. Are you brave enough to compete in the trials?

Well Winnie Wednesday is, and Susan has done it again with her absolute killer character creation. A story idea that Susan then took to twitter, and it turned into a 6 month extravaganza… twice, was one of the highlights of my social media in the last few years. Getting to make dumb choices with internet friends, (Team Thirsty all the way) and realizing that no we would be absolutely terrible YA protagonists has been a delight. Somehow she took all of the pieces that we loved from the Sooz-Your-Own-Adventure, including some great easter eggs, and gave us an even better story.

Winnie and her family are outcasts in a secret society, and she is fighting desperately to return them to their former position. With her drive, her awkwardness, and her amazing observation skills Winnie is a main character that you can laugh, yell, and cry with. The teenage angst of societal pressures and high school dynamics is so spot on. As are the amazingly award moments with (Ugh!) Jay.

The mystery Winnie stumbles into of a new nightmare, the werewolf, and her dad’s involvement keep you hungry for the plot. And truly the setting of an isolated community in the woods? Iconic. The integration of that community with the outside world, and how they keep the safety of regular folks safe while fighting nightmares is so easy to understand that this paranormal fantasy slides into being somewhere between Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series and Teen Wolf, filling a niche that has been missing in YA the last few years.

However, I return to what I think is one of Susan’s best writing features. The cast. It is the characters that make the book standout, from adorable family moments (I would do anything for Momma Wednesday), to why are the popular girls being nice to me, and awkward former-best-friends-but-now-you’re-hot-but-I’m-still-mad-at-you-AND-I-need-your-help dynamics. Friendship has always been a hallmark of Susan’s stories and the pitfalls and saving graces that come with that relationship. Winnie herself has been cast out, but part of her arc is learning who to trust and if is she truly alone. It is masterful and I think something everyone identify with, because didn’t everyone feel slightly alone and like no one understood them in high school?

Also, another Susan special. You are left with so many questions, so many ideas, and an absolute itching to have the rest of the story Right. Now. So when you’ve got theories and want to squeal about… Boops? Come find me to chat!

You can find The Luminaries here:

Bookshop.org ~ Libfro.fm ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph

As a side note, some of the links to Bookshop or Libro.fm will either provide me or an indie bookshop I support a portion of the affiliate sales if you use them to buy a book I recommend!

Thank you to Tor Teen who sent me an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Just updating to tell you that Caitlin Davies is the narrator for the audiobook and it was EXCELLENT.