Review: Another Faust

Book: Another Faust
Author: Daniel & Dina Nayeri
Pages: 400
Published: August 25th, 2010

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish - only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and
elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary “gifts.”
But as the students claw their way up - reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty - the side-effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins.

General Overview: I was so excited to get this book! Have you seen the summary? It sounds so amazing, doesn't it? I had such high expectations for this story, but sadly Another Faust did not live up to them.

Characters: The characterization just fell flat for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters or get a true sense of who they were and what they were like. I just…I didn't understand them, nor did I understand their Governess. You know when you meet a person, and they always seem to change their personalities and opinions so you never really get a good reading on them? The characters in this book were just like that for me.

Plot: The plot was not organized at all. I did really like the premise, and I felt that this book could've been great -- it just wasn't executed all that well. I did like a few of the things that the authors threw in: their changing house, their powers. However, I felt that most of the events in the book felt out of place, and occurred in a rather untimely fashion. The ending of the book felt entire too rushed! It was so anticlimactic. I was flipping through the pages, looking for the build-up to something exciting, but it seemed like I turned the page, and bam! There it was. The climax. And I was left wondering where that came from.

Writing: I found nothing wrong with the writing. The Nayeris write in a very organized manner, they stated everything, but everything was just jumbled up. I couldn't make sense of the events in the book, or the characters as I mentioned above.

Cover: I could identify every model on the cover. They look very intense and I think their expressions fit the gothic mood of the book, and I liked the moths on the sides, as they are quite significant in the story.

Overall: 1.5 out of 5 stars