Thank you NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: May 17th, 2016
Synopsis: Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town’s crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blues voice–inherited from her musically gifted mother–in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.
Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical books, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.
I have to admit that when I requested Devil And The Bluebird, it was because the synopsis with it’s mention of crossroad demons reminded me of the tv show Supernatural, which if you’ve been following me you might have noticed my slight, ahem, obsession. For those of you not familiar with crossroads demon folklore, these are the demons you can make a supernatural deal with. Unfortunately it also involves the giving up of your soul, and in Supernatural when your contract is up, you’re brutally killed by Hellhounds, who then drag your soul to Hell. Nasty huh? So, in this instance 17-year-old Blue is desperately trying to save her sister Cass who disappeared after making a deal with a devil. Blue makes a bargain: the demon gives her six months to find Cass and if Blue fails then she can collect both sisters’ souls. Of course, as is often the case with demons, this one pulls a sneaky trick on Blue. While Blue sets off on her journey with her guitar and a pair of magical boots, she does so without her voice. Yep. No singing, no talking, nada.
Naturally the devil has other tricks up her sleeves as well, but I’m going to let you discover them on your own if you choose to read this. Blue is a picture-perfect tragically flawed character. She’s smart, loyal and stubbornly determined. She has more love in her heart than she realizes. Mourning her mother deeply, Blue will do whatever it takes to reunite with her sister which gets her into some pretty awful situations. As she makes friends and allies on her journey, she also learns some of different types of evil that are out there, and I’m not talking about the paranormal kind. Throughout the book Mason-Black does a beautiful job with Blue’s voice which rings with clarity and sincerity. The secondary characters, of which there are quite a few, are richly drawn. Each one, no matter how brief their role, is a fully realized person. I fully believed that all these characters who walk in and out of Blue’s life, also have lives of their own. While some of them show that greed, selfishness, indifference and cruelty can take many forms, they also show the same for kindness, compassion and love. It’s these last three that allow Blue to continue on her quest. Alongside the paranormal elements that are in the story, there are also many real-life issues explored including: loss of a parent, teen runaways, transgender teens, drug abuse, homelessness, domestic abuse, and sex trafficking. It amazes me that the author was able to include all of this in a 336 page novel without once slowing the pace down. Devil And The Bluebird is a lyrical and poignant debut that despite its touching on some of the uglier parts of life, still manages to be a beautiful redemption tale. Because of the mature themes I recommend this to older teens and adults. I also think it would be a perfect novel for a book discussion group. And now for some reason I’m feeling an overwhelming need to binge- watch the Winchesters.
Captivated~By~Fantasy said:
Awesome post 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you so much! This is just one of those books which was absolutely perfect in every way!☺️
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Carrie said:
Ok, you’ve got me interested yet again…. how do I keep missing these? LOL
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay! This is worth your time Carrie!
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Carrie said:
Sounds like it, just too many books on Netgalley I must have completely overlooked this one too.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😔
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Jay said:
What year did the world start binge watching? Is Netflix to blame, or boxed DVD sets?
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m not sure when it began I blame both!😕
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Lekeisha The Booknerd said:
Never make deals with the devil, it never ends well. I remember seeing this, but decided against reading it. I may have to add it. Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Right?! They’re always tricky.👿 I almost skipped this too, but when I read the synopsis and it was so reminiscent of Supernatural I was curious.
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Zoë said:
Dammit. I need a Supernatural run again. It’s that time of year again. Thanks Kim xD
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
In my humble opinion you can never have enough Supernatural. And they just got renewed for another season! Yay!
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Zoë said:
I agree, I agree.
Really? I hope that you enjoy it then 😀
I will be honest, I only actually acknowledge 5 seasons lol. I watched up until 8 or 9, but didn’t like a single season after the big showdown of 5. That’s just me though. My husband bought me a box set of 1-5 and I watch it like once or twice a year. At least someone believes this is not overkill! 😛
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Supernatural definitely has it’s ups and downs, but this season has been quite good so I’m glad I stuck with it.
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The Telltale Mind said:
Sounds like a good one and not too long either.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
If it had been any longer I think it would have gotten a bit draggy, so the length was perfect.
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Jordan (BookBetch) said:
Great points. 🙂 One of my fav aspects of this book is that there are such a strong variety of real people, who like you mentioned, do seem like they have lives outside of this story 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jordan! I think that’s what prevented the story from dragging for me.☺️🙋🏻
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Jen said:
This book sounds like a lot of fun! And while I have Supernatural on my to-watch list, I was clueless about crossroad demons. Making deals with demons never sounds like a great idea lol, but I’m sure it’s beyond interesting in books and tv show.. Fabulous review, Kim!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jen! This is definitely one of my favorite YA books so far this year.
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emmakwall said:
LITTLE MERMAID GIF!!!!!!!!!! ❤
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Gotta Love Ariel!💕
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emmakwall said:
And Belle!! ❤ ❤ ❤
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
#always
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emmakwall said:
#forever
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😘
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emmakwall said:
❤ ❤ ❤
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