Devils Within vs. Children of Blood and Bone

Well, our team (Barb, Kim, Cathy, Amanda) was unanimous with our verdict: Devils Within, we could do without; Children of Blood and Bone is moving on!

Devils Within - This book was an interesting, but sometimes disturbing read. It is based on a true story  about a young boy who is born into, and raised in, a white supremacy compound. The story begins when Nate is sent to live with his uncle after an event at The Fort lands him in lock up. It would be a good book for discussion about humanity and how powerful our upbringing can be when looking at the beliefs and values we have. It is heartbreaking to watch Nate try to move forward even when he feels the weight of his past weighing him down. We wanted to cheer him on as he dealt with both the typical teenage angst, his racially-charged past, and his new role as high school student. Although an interesting story line, the writing was underwhelming (some might say, "borderline terrible"). We would have liked to have the secondary characters such as his uncle, his partner and some of his peers at school, developed more completely. More information on how the uncle and his partner came together would have been appreciated. The author did do a good job of accurately describing the manifestations of trauma.

Children of Blood and Bone - Our whole team started out by saying that this is not the type of book any of us typically read, but we all loved it. The plot was well developed and it had enough twists, action, and hints of romance to keep it interesting. Although a lot of unique information and vocabulary was introduced to build this fantasy world, it was easy to follow and remember. The characters were well developed and their complexity kept you intrigued and wanting to know more about them. Watching them each go through their journey and interact with other characters was fascinating. It certainly evoked a variety of emotions throughout the read, and our team would happily read more texts by this author.