The King of Crows by Libba Bray fulfills the
category “Book Set in
the 1920s” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. It is the fifth in the
Diviners series and takes place in the Summer of 1927. (See the previous blog)
I love it when I do things by accident. I’d planned to read this book from
the moment the title was released. The Diviners is one of my favorite YA
series. Ms. Bray takes our modern world problems and plunks them down in the
1920s—or she’s great at showing how history repeats itself.
The Diviners are
a rag-tag group of young adults who have mysterious powers. Some can see the
past, others walk in dreams, or alter people’s perceptions. Each diviner has a unique power to save Henry
and Ling. Every character has their own story. They come together in each book to
help a critical situation but also to grow, find their place in the world and contribute
to the series arc—the villain, the King of Crows.
This final novel in the series combines all story
arcs, past and present. It puts our Diviners on the road to stop the King of
Crows from invading our world and taking over. Each character must face their past
and future to foil the plans of the dream man. Story arcs set in the first book
(over 1500 pages ago) complete with somewhat satisfying endings.
Ms. Bray continues to give us diverse characters
not found in many novels. The Diviners represent many races, sexual
orientations, socio-economic statuses, and religions. I always recommend the
series for those looking for novels with wide-ranging characters.
I loved this book and the reader too, January LaVoy.
(I have scoured the Libby app for other books read by her.) To be honest, the
narrative was rushed. So much happened in the novel and so quick. Some stories felt
shorted in the attempt to finish the series with this book. I would rather have
her cut the book into tiny pieces, gave me each groups journeys as they fled
New York City for the Midwest. I’m
not saying this because I wanted to live in their world longer (well, maybe a
little). Each character should have a full ending to their journey.
Each tale took in the history of the US beyond the city—traveling
shows, the great Mississippi flood, air travel, and more. I was so glad that I
read this back to back with One Summer: America, 1927. And I didn’t do
it on purpose. It was interesting to hear the narrative of Memphis on the levee
in Mississippi and the history from Bill Bryson. The two books were a perfect
matched pair. One book gave me the historical context, the other gave me the lives
and emotions of the people living it. Utter perfection.
I give The King of
Crows by Libba Bray Five Black Feathers.
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