Title: All the Crooked Saints
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic Realism
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date published: October 10, 2017
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 320
Source: Publisher

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

– MY REVIEW –

This book was amazing! Either my new favourite book for 2017, or at least in the top 5 or 3 for the year. But before I get more into that, I had two things that I wanted to discuss. Firstly, this was the first Maggie Stiefvater book that I have ever read. The Raven Boys series has been on my TBR for quite some time, but I simply haven’t been able to get to it yet due to my crazy ARC-requesting impulses. I therefore will be unable to compare this work to any of her other novels. Secondly, I know that there is a controversy going on with this book, but I do not know exact details (because I avoid reading other reviews before I post my own, so as to prevent any outside influences on my opinions/writing), except that a number of Latinx readers are upset. As I am not Latinx, I will not be making any comment on this. I will be reviewing this book from my perspective alone.

Aaaand back to my review! The first thing that drew me to this book was the fact that it was a Maggie Stiefvater book, and that I had been meaning to read her books for quite some time. Since this just came out this month, and I was able to request an ARC (whereas her other books had been out for some time, and no ARCs would be available), it was meant to be! The second thing was the cover. It’s not the type of cover that I normally go for, but something about it really spoke to me. It promised an eerie, dark, and captivating read (and it didn’t lie!) Now that I’ve read the book, and I know the meaning behind each symbol presented on the cover, I love it even more! The third thing that struck me about this book (when I actually opened it) was the writing!

Some of you may have seen me freak out on Twitter about this, and might have laughed. But I was seriously almost in tears over how beautifully Stiefvater combines words, and coaxes them to do her will. It’s been a while since I encountered writing of such quality, and I was very impressed. After I read half-way through the first page, I knew that I would love this book, unless the plot or the characters were absolutely horrible, or something, haha. But that was obviously not the case!

While the plot is not something that I normally go for in my books, something about it just really attracted me. I never read things set in the 60s, and I don’t think I’ve ever read anything set in Colorado, or a desert either! Another thing which was new to me, was the type of magic in the book, as well as the atmosphere. I absolutely loved it, and I’m asking myself why and how I have never read other books like this before. Are there other books like this out there? (I’m very open to recommendations! Haha.)

As for the characters? I really loved them as well! They were all so life-like and unique, despite the very fantastical things they were dealing with…and I find that I really really miss them. It’s almost as if I have made some new friends that I really clicked with, but then they had to move to the other side of the planet…none of us knowing when we would see each other again. Yes, the book hangover is quite poignant. I appreciate that this book is a standalone, and am happy to have read one of these for the first time in a while, but at the same time…I really wish there was a sequel. Sigh. I guess that I will just have to resign myself to re-reading this until the end of time.

Overall, I found this book to be fantastic. Just as the cover promised, it was dark, eerie, and captivating throughout. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Stiefvater and anything else that she writes, and will also dive into her backlist as soon as I can find the time!

– ABOUT THE AUTHOR –

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader. All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

– PURCHASE LINKS –

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!