burstnwithbooks's review against another edition
4.0
INcredible. The writing style is utterly unique in this book. The main character (whose POV is the only one throughout the book) suffers from both short and long term memory loss, so she is missing huge parts of her memory, and therefore so are you. Such a beautiful story, and beyond unique. I definitely recommend it (though not to the faint of heart)!
bookishnicole's review against another edition
4.0
I’m sorry to admit that this was my first Sarah Beth Durst book. I am so sorry for my ignorance. I knew who she was, I had heard of her, but never had I experienced her brilliance. This book was clever and so original that I adored nearly every moment of it. I almost didn’t want it to end, but I felt so happy and content with it that I’m alright with this book staying a standalone.
The only reason that I’m not giving this book a full 5 stars is because the first 50 pages were very slow and I was thrown by the third person perspective. I’ve said time and time again that I’m not a big fan of that perspective and that it tends to leave me feeling a little lost, but once I got used to it in this book, I really adored it and gobbled the book up.
I loved falling into this world. I really felt for Eve as she struggled to hold onto her memories of her life before. I wish that Eve and Malcolm’s relationship had been explored a little more because it was obvious from the start that he cared for her, and I wish we could have seen a little bit more of that paternal affection.
I do feel that the book was a little short for something with such a unique plot. There were so many aspects that I would have loved to learn a little bit more about. I loved how different all the characters were, I especially loved Zach who reminded me a lot of Henry from Grey’s Anatomy. He was quirky and forward and made me laugh out loud at some points.
This book is great and a perfect book to pick up and learn more about how awesome Sarah Beth Durst is. I actually got to meet her at BEA this year which was so awesome, although I am so bummed that I couldn’t get this book signed by her (Since I didn't have it....).
The only reason that I’m not giving this book a full 5 stars is because the first 50 pages were very slow and I was thrown by the third person perspective. I’ve said time and time again that I’m not a big fan of that perspective and that it tends to leave me feeling a little lost, but once I got used to it in this book, I really adored it and gobbled the book up.
I loved falling into this world. I really felt for Eve as she struggled to hold onto her memories of her life before. I wish that Eve and Malcolm’s relationship had been explored a little more because it was obvious from the start that he cared for her, and I wish we could have seen a little bit more of that paternal affection.
I do feel that the book was a little short for something with such a unique plot. There were so many aspects that I would have loved to learn a little bit more about. I loved how different all the characters were, I especially loved Zach who reminded me a lot of Henry from Grey’s Anatomy. He was quirky and forward and made me laugh out loud at some points.
This book is great and a perfect book to pick up and learn more about how awesome Sarah Beth Durst is. I actually got to meet her at BEA this year which was so awesome, although I am so bummed that I couldn’t get this book signed by her (Since I didn't have it....).
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge Sarah Beth Durst fan...loved Ice and Vessel and Enchanted Ivy. All of them had the wondrous, youthful fascination with the beauty of the world, and a sympathetic view of the evil found therein.
Conjured certainly contained my well-loved Durst flavors: wondrously imaginative and creepy visions of a twisted carnival, a horrible villain who has lost sight of his own humanity, a brave protagonist and her motor-mouth boy-helper.
And the protagonist, Eve, is an unreliable narrator to boot. (I love me those unreliable narrators, it adds such a complexity to otherwise guessable tropes) She's got memory lapses and long-term amnesia and can't remember if she's met people before or what their relationships are. She just knows she's in a Witness Protection program, guarded fiercely by agents, and is the key to unlocking the puzzle of a serial killer.
And she can make the drawings of birds on her room's wallpaper take flight, but she'll pass out and have aforementioned creepy-carnival (Magician pulls a severed hand holding a bouquet of roses from his hat, for instance) visions whenever she uses her magic.
Until she meets a boy in a library and all of a sudden things get different.
So why only 4 stars from me? Well, it's kind of a too much of a good thing kind of thing. As creepy, fantastical, and disturbingly lyrical the passages where Eve has visions of the Magician and they Storyteller in their fantastical carnival are in the first half of the book, they got a little cloying in the second half when all I wanted was for Eve and her boy to make magic together, figure out the obvious clues about Eve's identity hidden in her visions, and confront the bad guy.
Once we get to the actual bad guy confronting, the plot concludes in a satisfyingly Eve-centered way while still giving a nod to the complexity of the bad guy.
There is some kissing between Eve and her boy, very integral to the plot, and very sweet, so I would totally have no problem with my elementary aged daughter reading this.
This Book's Snack Rating: Like a box of fancy chocolates beautifully shaped with slightly outrageous flavors for the beautifully written creepy carnival passages and sweet character arc of unreliable narrator Eve that got just a bit too much for me midway through the book
Conjured certainly contained my well-loved Durst flavors: wondrously imaginative and creepy visions of a twisted carnival, a horrible villain who has lost sight of his own humanity, a brave protagonist and her motor-mouth boy-helper.
And the protagonist, Eve, is an unreliable narrator to boot. (I love me those unreliable narrators, it adds such a complexity to otherwise guessable tropes) She's got memory lapses and long-term amnesia and can't remember if she's met people before or what their relationships are. She just knows she's in a Witness Protection program, guarded fiercely by agents, and is the key to unlocking the puzzle of a serial killer.
And she can make the drawings of birds on her room's wallpaper take flight, but she'll pass out and have aforementioned creepy-carnival (Magician pulls a severed hand holding a bouquet of roses from his hat, for instance) visions whenever she uses her magic.
Until she meets a boy in a library and all of a sudden things get different.
So why only 4 stars from me? Well, it's kind of a too much of a good thing kind of thing. As creepy, fantastical, and disturbingly lyrical the passages where Eve has visions of the Magician and they Storyteller in their fantastical carnival are in the first half of the book, they got a little cloying in the second half when all I wanted was for Eve and her boy to make magic together, figure out the obvious clues about Eve's identity hidden in her visions, and confront the bad guy.
Once we get to the actual bad guy confronting, the plot concludes in a satisfyingly Eve-centered way while still giving a nod to the complexity of the bad guy.
There is some kissing between Eve and her boy, very integral to the plot, and very sweet, so I would totally have no problem with my elementary aged daughter reading this.
This Book's Snack Rating: Like a box of fancy chocolates beautifully shaped with slightly outrageous flavors for the beautifully written creepy carnival passages and sweet character arc of unreliable narrator Eve that got just a bit too much for me midway through the book
alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition
There was too much happening with no explanation, and I was really confused.
msseviereads's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, but the story was confusing to me and I had a hard time leaving and coming back to this book.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Eve doesn't know anything about her past. No family. No home. Even her face has been changed with a series of surgeries.
All Eve knows for sure is that a madman is on the loose--a killer who uses magic to murder his targets. And she might be the key to solving the case. If she ever remembers.
Everyone is keeping secrets from her--maybe even her own mind. Recurring dreams of a carnival with tinny music and a sinister magician haunt her. Sometimes a storyteller is there spinning tales as she tries to sew buttons into Eve's skin. Eve can change the color of her eyes and make the birds printed on her wallpaper fly around her new room.
Protected by two witness protection agents and befriended by a boy who never lies, Eve will have to make sense of her past if she ever hopes to have a future of her own.
Conjured is a tense novel of suspense with bits of magic and character study thrown in. It is nowhere near as coherent as the jacket summary suggests. Readers expecting a linear story here will be disappointed.
Eve remembers nothing of her past and loses time to blackouts several times throughout the story. Her lack of memory is manipulated and exploited. These gaps and Eve's own confusion are crucial to the plot but they also create a significant distance between readers and Eve's characters. This gap narrows as the story progresses (and as Durst changes writing tense and person to reflect the changes) but it still makes for a very disorienting--and sometimes slow--beginning.
As her name suggests, Eve is an almost completely blank slate at the beginning of the story. Consequently her character often feels lacking in personality (since Eve doesn't even know her own personality really). That said Durst does an excellent job creating memorable secondary characters as both friends and foils to Eve. The setting and the premise are also fascinating.
This isn't a book for everyone but readers who enjoy clever writing and unique plot structures will be rewarded by a completely surprising and original novel as Conjured builds slowly to a shocking revelation and a conclusion that will have readers holding their breath until the dramatic finish.
Possible Pairings: Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler, Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
All Eve knows for sure is that a madman is on the loose--a killer who uses magic to murder his targets. And she might be the key to solving the case. If she ever remembers.
Everyone is keeping secrets from her--maybe even her own mind. Recurring dreams of a carnival with tinny music and a sinister magician haunt her. Sometimes a storyteller is there spinning tales as she tries to sew buttons into Eve's skin. Eve can change the color of her eyes and make the birds printed on her wallpaper fly around her new room.
Protected by two witness protection agents and befriended by a boy who never lies, Eve will have to make sense of her past if she ever hopes to have a future of her own.
Conjured is a tense novel of suspense with bits of magic and character study thrown in. It is nowhere near as coherent as the jacket summary suggests. Readers expecting a linear story here will be disappointed.
Eve remembers nothing of her past and loses time to blackouts several times throughout the story. Her lack of memory is manipulated and exploited. These gaps and Eve's own confusion are crucial to the plot but they also create a significant distance between readers and Eve's characters. This gap narrows as the story progresses (and as Durst changes writing tense and person to reflect the changes) but it still makes for a very disorienting--and sometimes slow--beginning.
As her name suggests, Eve is an almost completely blank slate at the beginning of the story. Consequently her character often feels lacking in personality (since Eve doesn't even know her own personality really). That said Durst does an excellent job creating memorable secondary characters as both friends and foils to Eve. The setting and the premise are also fascinating.
This isn't a book for everyone but readers who enjoy clever writing and unique plot structures will be rewarded by a completely surprising and original novel as Conjured builds slowly to a shocking revelation and a conclusion that will have readers holding their breath until the dramatic finish.
Possible Pairings: Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler, Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff