Scan barcode
A review by mmc_librarian
Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst
4.0
I'm not sure how to review this book, and maybe that might be a sign that it's not as amazing as I thought it was. So let me start with that while Conjured could have used a bit more polish and could have taken more risks, it is worth your time for its language and world-building. However, if you're not a fan of passive main characters, the amnesia trope, or love triangles, then I'd say skip it.
Eve is another character suffering from amnesia, and what's worse is that she is also being pursued by a serial killer who uses magic on his victims and kills them gruesomely. She's been put in a magical Witness Protection program and she's guarded by two agents named Malcolm and Nikki. They need her to remember details about the killer so that they can stop him before he kills again; however, the only way Eve can start retrieving her memories is if she uses her own magic, but when she uses magic, she always passes out. While she gains glimpses of her memories this way, she loses days and weeks in exchange. The agents try to give her a somewhat normal life by signing her up as a library assistant - enter Zach, a boy her age who is also a library assistant, and who she chooses to feel a connection to despite the obstacles in her way. Namely, the agents themselves, who at every turn are trying to manipulate Eve, and other magical teenagers, who have an ominous agenda of their own.
So unlike the last book I read where the character is an amnesiac, The Rook, Eve does not develop a single strong personality trait. She desperately wants to remember who she is, and she wants to help catch the mysterious murderer, but she struggles to have an active role in her own story. There is the horror of what happens in her visions as she witnesses the killer choosing and slaughtering various victims, and the dread she feels when she wakes up from another blackout and has to figure out what she's missed - because she doesn't merely sleep through the blackouts, she is apparently still doing things and interacting with people, but she doesn't remember doing any of those things once she truly "awakens." So the plot has things constantly happen to Eve, but she has no control over the situation. This is why I can somewhat forgive the fact that Eve doesn't really have a personality of her own - it's difficult to figure out who you are if you're constantly forgetting. However, it was really frustrating at times to watch Eve be constantly paralyzed by inaction. She just feels very empty at times; maybe this is supposed to be demonstrating the depth of her character, I don't know.
I felt like Zach was the weakest character. While it was touching at times to see how the friendship between Zach and Eve helped Eve feel human, Zach soaks up all of the personality points, and not even interesting personality points, but the most annoying, stereotypical ones of The Nerd (and not in the complimentary way). In the end, I did feel for him and I appreciated that his support of Eve became more than just, "This girl pays attention to me therefore I am loyal."
And yes, as I mentioned before, this is a love triangle - but what's different about this one is that for once, the girl isn't having it. Aiden, the other point in the triangle, is also one of the magical teens, but Eve never truly feels anything for him and there is a reason for that. It was nice to see that once she makes a connection with Zach, Eve never really lets go of that feeling, which is the much more genuine relationship. Neither the reader nor Eve buys the relationship with Aiden.
Wow, now that I've written three paragraphs of criticism, let's end this review with some praise. For one, if you can get through the first few pages, you WILL BE HOOKED. This book is truly a thriller and it does a fantastic job of keeping you glued to the page. I almost couldn't stop reading once I started - I wanted to understand what Eve was going through and figure out what was happening. The language in this book is beautiful too; the descriptive imagery really helps put the reader in the moment with the main character as you and she both go through the experience for the first time. I also really like the idea of parallel worlds, and a world with a special program like a supernatural Men in Black. Finally, there is a twist in this book that I did not see coming and it manages to be very, VERY effective.
To conclude my review: Conjured grips its readers in a thrilling tale full of suspense and dread through its imaginative setting and compelling mystery, but may lose readers due to the constraints of the young adult genre, the flaws in characterization, and some convolution in the plot. Despite some hiccups, I think it definitely deserves four stars.
Eve is another character suffering from amnesia, and what's worse is that she is also being pursued by a serial killer who uses magic on his victims and kills them gruesomely. She's been put in a magical Witness Protection program and she's guarded by two agents named Malcolm and Nikki. They need her to remember details about the killer so that they can stop him before he kills again; however, the only way Eve can start retrieving her memories is if she uses her own magic, but when she uses magic, she always passes out. While she gains glimpses of her memories this way, she loses days and weeks in exchange. The agents try to give her a somewhat normal life by signing her up as a library assistant - enter Zach, a boy her age who is also a library assistant, and who she chooses to feel a connection to despite the obstacles in her way. Namely, the agents themselves, who at every turn are trying to manipulate Eve, and other magical teenagers, who have an ominous agenda of their own.
So unlike the last book I read where the character is an amnesiac, The Rook, Eve does not develop a single strong personality trait. She desperately wants to remember who she is, and she wants to help catch the mysterious murderer, but she struggles to have an active role in her own story. There is the horror of what happens in her visions as she witnesses the killer choosing and slaughtering various victims, and the dread she feels when she wakes up from another blackout and has to figure out what she's missed - because she doesn't merely sleep through the blackouts, she is apparently still doing things and interacting with people, but she doesn't remember doing any of those things once she truly "awakens." So the plot has things constantly happen to Eve, but she has no control over the situation. This is why I can somewhat forgive the fact that Eve doesn't really have a personality of her own - it's difficult to figure out who you are if you're constantly forgetting. However, it was really frustrating at times to watch Eve be constantly paralyzed by inaction. She just feels very empty at times; maybe this is supposed to be demonstrating the depth of her character, I don't know.
I felt like Zach was the weakest character. While it was touching at times to see how the friendship between Zach and Eve helped Eve feel human, Zach soaks up all of the personality points, and not even interesting personality points, but the most annoying, stereotypical ones of The Nerd (and not in the complimentary way). In the end, I did feel for him and I appreciated that his support of Eve became more than just, "This girl pays attention to me therefore I am loyal."
And yes, as I mentioned before, this is a love triangle - but what's different about this one is that for once, the girl isn't having it. Aiden, the other point in the triangle, is also one of the magical teens, but Eve never truly feels anything for him and there is a reason for that. It was nice to see that once she makes a connection with Zach, Eve never really lets go of that feeling, which is the much more genuine relationship. Neither the reader nor Eve buys the relationship with Aiden.
Wow, now that I've written three paragraphs of criticism, let's end this review with some praise. For one, if you can get through the first few pages, you WILL BE HOOKED. This book is truly a thriller and it does a fantastic job of keeping you glued to the page. I almost couldn't stop reading once I started - I wanted to understand what Eve was going through and figure out what was happening. The language in this book is beautiful too; the descriptive imagery really helps put the reader in the moment with the main character as you and she both go through the experience for the first time. I also really like the idea of parallel worlds, and a world with a special program like a supernatural Men in Black. Finally, there is a twist in this book that I did not see coming and it manages to be very, VERY effective.
To conclude my review: Conjured grips its readers in a thrilling tale full of suspense and dread through its imaginative setting and compelling mystery, but may lose readers due to the constraints of the young adult genre, the flaws in characterization, and some convolution in the plot. Despite some hiccups, I think it definitely deserves four stars.