Book Review ~ Another Faust

Another Faust
By Daniel Nayeri & Dina Nayeri
Published By Candlewick Press

Summary (Goodreads): On a single night, five children suddenly vanish from their homes in Paris, Glasgow, Rome, and London. Years later, five enigmatic teenagers make an impressive entrance at an exclusive New York holiday party with their strange but beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. Rumor and intrigue follow the Faust children to the elite Manhattan Marlowe School, where their very presence brings unexplainable misfortune.

Using “gifts” given to them by Madame Vileroy, these mysterious teenagers rise to suspicious heights at Marlowe. Though at first their abilities seem almost childlike in their simplicity, they soon learn that their newfound talents for cheating, stealing, hiding, and lying are far more potent than they had ever imagined — and far more addictive.

Ignoring the side effects of pursuing their individual obsessions, bargaining with the very devil in their midst as they claw their way to the top, these five ambitious teens draw ever nearer to their goals . . . until two of them uncover a secret even more shocking than their own most unforgivable sins. Dialing up the ancient dilemma of indulgence versus redemption, this modern-day retelling of the Faustian bargain story, set in twenty-first-century Manhattan, provides a look into the cutthroat world of high-school competition that is both bitingly funny and scorchingly wicked.

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this book. It wasn't horrible but it also wasn't great. I think my problem through most of the book was there were too many voices. Towards the end when it was mostly being told by Bice and Christian was when I was better able to get into it.  Six POVs were just distracting.

The overall story and "what ifs" was intriguing and ultimately what kept me reading. Trying to guess how far these teens were willing to go to get what they want and seeing if once they got it, if it was really what they wanted.

Rating: 3