Monday, August 3, 2015

Review: The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

Summary:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets We Were Liars in this thought-provoking, brilliantly written, and totally original realistic contemporary debut about three teens who must deal with the consequences of spells cast on them in the wake of their classmate’s sudden death.


Publication Date: May 12, 2015


The Cost of All Things has a very interesting idea at the center of the story: what would you be willing to give in order to make your wishes come true? The hekamist angle was original and the story felt fresh, especially since I don’t read a lot of books about magical realism.

I liked the main character Ari and I wish the story was told in only her point of view. The multiple POVs felt like overkill and I think after learning the fate of one of the characters, one of the POVs could be left out. Also, I thought the wishes would be more intriguing, but they seemed mostly superficial.

The setting was well done and the magical parts were probably my favorite sections. I thought the rules regarding how magic could be used and what to do if you wanted the spell reversed was thought provoking.

The ending was just okay for me and I did feel like the author rushed to conclude all of the characters’ storylines. The writing was good and I do look forward to see what else books she’ll release in the future.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy for review!

3 comments:

  1. Awesome review! I'm bothered by rushed endings now and then, but maybe the too many POVs or too many characters are what caused it? Dunno. Sorry it left you wanting. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. The magical elements sounds well done. I haven't heard of this one but glad to hear that you enjoyed besides the ending that was just okay

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  3. I agree with you on this one! I am glad you enjoyed it. The magical elements were the best part. :)

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