Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

3 reviews

toffishay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I don't know about this one. Something about it didn't really draw me in. It felt repetitive and like we were spinning our wheels for a lot of the time and then the ending really just jumped out of nowhere. That may be first book struggles though as there is a lot to set up. But I would have hoped that the library would feature more in this one, since that was the name of the book and we barely got anything. Also, I don't really know why the main character is 14-years-old. The themes are really mature and dark and I know that a lot of YA books deal with intense themes, but it seems like the audience is more for adult fantasy, so why not have the main character be in her early 20s or even late teens?
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enbae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Library of the Dead is a fantasy with dystopian and mystery elements, fast-paced enough to pull it all off without getting stuck. There's a paranormal focus that includes carrying messages for ghosts and astral projection onto different planes. The eponymous library is located under a graveyard (entrance through a mausoleum, naturally) and serves the needs of magical scholars and now one autodidactic teenager on a pro bono mission from a recently departed ghost to figure out why children in Edinburgh are going missing.

Ropa is a no-nonsense protagonist who could take a starring role in the argument for why you should take 14-year-olds very seriously indeed. She's self-assured, the main breadwinner for her family, and has a tough exterior protecting a heart of gold. She loves to learn, and her unmastered magical abilities are just out of reach. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how strongly her voice comes through in terms of the language and tone chosen by the author. Ropa has a quick, dry sense of observational humor, and she doesn't waste energy skirting around the truth as she sees it. I also loved her friendships and her relationships with her grandmother and younger sister. They provide a positive and supportive foundation as Ropa's detective work gets increasingly dangerous and complicated.

The plot wasn't particularly surprising on the mystery front, but Ropa's detective work led her through so many strange magical situations and action-packed scenes that I didn't mind. I'm delighted that this is just the beginning of a series because I can't wait to see how Ropa grows, how the deepening intrigue is resolved, and how her relationships evolve. The dystopian world-building is also still incomplete, so I am curious to know more about this near future world and the series of atrocities and bad decisions that got us there. This book has so much heart, and I definitely recommend it.
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