The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Description

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul

-goodreads.com

Review

So I decided to buy this based on reviews I'd read on Amazon, and on here. And it certainly lived up to my expectations! Normally, I'm not a big fan of books with religious undertones- I get enough of that at home, to be honest, but the aspects of religion in the book weren't boring or annoying.

Despain's writing was flowing and clear, and I especially liked her characterisation. To me, all the characters felt realistic and three-dimensional with the exception, maybe, of Grace's friend Amber.

Contrary to many other YA Supernatural novels, the theme of family was explored, and readers were able to see the family dynamics, especially between Jude and Grace. Jude was an amazingly developed character, and the revelation near the end...well I wasn't expecting it at all but it made a lot of sense.

Grace was a likable protagonist, maybe a bit too much of a goody-goody but it was understandable since she was, after all, a Pastor's daughter. Daniel developed into an attractive character- at first I was a bit wary of him but then as explanations were given and actions were made, I grew to like him.

What I liked about this book was that the bad-boy wasn't new or a complete stranger to the female protagonist at the beginning of the novel. This made the love between Grace and Daniel more believable, as they had been so close to one another in the past, which was shown by Despain through flashbacks.

The supernatural aspects were fairly similar to other books but there was a new religious twist on the concept of werewolves. I didn't really like the extracts from the diary of a werewolf's sister (was it his sister?) but that's because the font was quite difficult to decipher.

I did think, however, that the ending was too abrupt, especially the last paragraph of the book. But I guess there'll be a sequel, so I look forward to reading it!

Rating: 4.5/5

Luna, by Julie Anne Peters

Regan's brother Liam can't stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female namesake, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night-in the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister's clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change-Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam's family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives? Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance.
- Amazon.com

I, for one, have never read a book dealing with transsexualism before, so I was very curious when I started to read Luna. I found it to be an amazing book. I thought it was very believable, very real, especially the family dynamics (notably the interactions between Regan's dad and Liam) and it gave me an insight into the difficulties experienced by transsexual people as they attempt to show who they truly are to society, and to be themselves which can result in humiliation and scorn. However Luna (formerly known as Liam, Regan's brother) manages to overcome these pressures of society and break free which, obviously, is an extremely brave thing to do.

Regan, from whose point of view Luna is told, is a likable character as there are aspects of her life we can relate to such as her feelings for a new boy at school, but then she also has to be there for her brother as she's the only person who knows about her.

I really enjoyed Luna because I thought Luna's story was dealt with well, especially through the use of flashbacks which showed how Luna was always trying to break free from Liam. I thought it was well-written, and also the right length and I look forward to reading more novels by Julie Anne Peters in the future.

Favourite scene
When Ally, Liam's best friend, comes to their house to play video-games after being told about Luna. I especially liked this scene because although she was wary at the beginning, Ally was able to accept that her best friend was a girl inside (and soon outside, too) and able to act the same around her, even though she thought she was in love with Liam. So it was great that Luna was starting to be accepted by the people closest to her. And that's what's matters the most- being accepted by the people you care about.

Favourite character
Definitely Regan because she was so strong, being there for Luna, lending her clothes, allowing her to change and put on makeup in the room...it must have been so hard for her to accept it, especially since Liam was her brother and she was so busy helping him, that she didn't have very many friends. She was very self-sacrificing which is a very admirable trait.

Rating: 5/5