A review by erinarkin20
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
2.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was interesting in parts and in others it really dragged. I will say that the reviews that say this is a ya version of The DaVinci Code are fairly accurate.
The story revolves around Nora who is somewhat underwhelming as a character. A tragedy causes her to make some major changes in her life. Because of those changes, she meets Chris and Adriane who become her closest friends. When Chris goes to college, his roommate Max enters the picture as well. I won't go into the entire background of what leads into the heart of the story as there is a lot going on in this book. In short, Nora, Chris and Max are assisting with a research/translation project for a history professor and while doing so, uncover a mystery around the Lumen Dei.
The story has mystery, murder, religious cults/sects, and quite a bit of deception. I did enjoy the story but felt some pieces were a bit out there...namely, the fact that seniors in high school are able to go overseas as part of a school trip and essentially just walk away from the group they are supposed to be with. I will say I enjoyed the part where the author channels a scene from Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark...
Overall I would probably rate this a 2.5 if I were able to. Anyone reading this should know there is a lot of background and reading of letters early on....the action doesn't really start until about 1/4 of the way into the book. If you power through that, don't give up.
The story revolves around Nora who is somewhat underwhelming as a character. A tragedy causes her to make some major changes in her life. Because of those changes, she meets Chris and Adriane who become her closest friends. When Chris goes to college, his roommate Max enters the picture as well. I won't go into the entire background of what leads into the heart of the story as there is a lot going on in this book. In short, Nora, Chris and Max are assisting with a research/translation project for a history professor and while doing so, uncover a mystery around the Lumen Dei.
The story has mystery, murder, religious cults/sects, and quite a bit of deception. I did enjoy the story but felt some pieces were a bit out there...namely, the fact that seniors in high school are able to go overseas as part of a school trip and essentially just walk away from the group they are supposed to be with. I will say I enjoyed the part where the author channels a scene from Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark...
Spoiler
let's just say there is mention of face melting and I immediately thought of that scene in the movie.Overall I would probably rate this a 2.5 if I were able to. Anyone reading this should know there is a lot of background and reading of letters early on....the action doesn't really start until about 1/4 of the way into the book. If you power through that, don't give up.