Another Faust

Another Faust is a true page-turner and a great contemporary update to a classic story. The Nayeris have done a fantastic job crafting this story, making the prose compelling and dark, and the characters are all three-dimensional (at least until their desires consume them). This book is just such a wonderful, dark, cautionary tale and I would seriously recommend it to pretty much anyone. The ending had me on the edge of my seat and my heart racing- I couldn't have seen it coming how the book ended, but it felt so right. Simply a really great debut novel! Can't wait to read more from these two.

Another Faust is so far one of my favorite books this year. This is a welcome and darkly delicious change of pace that sets itself apart from the pack. I really just loved the book. This is one I will remember out of the hundred (or more) that I've read this year. The story begins with five children from around the world. They are all different, but they do have one thing in common. They all want something and would do absolutely anything to get it. Each one has a dark spot that appears over his or her heart. When a mysterious woman appears and offers them a deal that they simply cannot refuse, they disappear from the lives they so despise. Five years later, Belle, Bice, Christian, Valentin and Victoria Faust reappear as teenagers in Manhattan and make quite a debut amongst the rich and elite. Madame Vileroy, the woman who offered them their deals is now their governess. As far as the world knows, she is a kind woman who adopted five orhpaned children, who grew into five extra-ordinarily talented and attractive teenagers. Nobody sees them as anything but special, which is exactly what the Faust's had bargained for. But being special is never enough for them. They want to be the best. Each one has been given a gift by Madame Vileroy which they have been using to "cheat" for quite some time. As they learn more about what they are capable of, they become increasingly addicted to using thier gifts, and are constantly asking for more. With each new bargain, they give up more pieces of their souls and become more dependent on Madame Vileroy. As she plays her own game with them they all slowly begn to lose their grip on reality and morality. At least until two of them figure out the evil truth about what has been going on all these years. They must be willing to give up everything they were given and face the consequences of making a deal with the devil if they ever hope to be free. Everyone has a price. What's yours? Would you be beautiful? Would you be brilliant? Would you be strong? Or perhaps be able to control time? Consider the possibilities. Imagine what you could do. What would you be willing to do if you were offered your hearts desire? This is a smart, witty, dark and wicked story that makes you think. It actually made me wonder about the price of my own soul. I came up with one, but when I saw how it affected Bice, well, let's just say my skin began to crawl. I thought, "I take it back! I take it back!." Hmm...maybe the things that you think you want are not the things they appear to be. There is always a catch, but it's up to you to decide if it's worth it.

Another Faust is written brilliantly by a brother & sister as their first book. It is a fiction and entertaining book and at first you think it is a dark book with few light moments, but the whole book is like a light shining on the darkness of evil and revealing the devils tricks, which you can't see them in darkness, and how they can be deceptive, easy and constant with even big prizes, but they are costly and deadly. I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't put it down till I finished it. The ending was so clever that I cried with joy. It reminded me of CS Lewis writings and I am looking forward to read Another Pan next year. I loved the first mysterious paragraph of each chapter, which shows the work of evil throughout the history. I loved the way that every action was explained in details and at the same time you could add your imagination to it as well. It gives you a balanced and open view for your judgment depends on where your heart is. It is an eye opening for the very existence of ageless spiritual battle and it makes you to think about how you can have a very high moral value and high goal achievements at the same time. It is an ageless intelligent book that is entertainment at the same time. Some areas were a new revelation in spiritual realm to me personally. I cried for human unhealthy ambitions and I laughed with very smart humor in this book. I also loved the fact that as much as writing is hard the authors even went farther to challenge themselves by writing together and in the process they taught another good lesson of unity and the power of being united to whoever that reads this series.

I won't waste too much time with a story recap, as I think the publisher's description is enough. From reading that description, I expected this book to be clever and creative. It is certainly both of those things, and more. The characters were well-drawn, the story was compelling, and *gasp* I learned something. Yes, the book was actually thought-provoking. I've read Twilight and Harry Potter, and although I thoroughly enjoyed those books, it was refreshing to read a book with a supernatural story that is creative and clever and that is also more than just a good story. I definitely felt a connection with each of the characters; I saw my own struggles with perfectionism and recognized in the prices the characters paid the price I've paid at times in my own life to overachieve. I recommend this book to YAs, of course, and also to all those other type As out there. I'll definitely be the first in line to buy the next book in the "Another Series."

Here's the Publishers Weekly review! In this sibling duo's debut, an unusual urban fantasy, five 10-year-olds~overachieving Victoria, homeless writer Christian, twins Bicé and Belle, and fame-hungry poet Valentin~disappear from their homes and are adopted by the beautiful, mysterious Madame Vileroy. Their families forget them, and they emerge in New York City five years later as the rich Faust siblings, joining the exclusive Marlowe School midyear. Each of the teens has been given a unique power (stopping time, mind-reading, bewitching beauty), though not all of them know the real cost. The novel's pace can be languid, though it picks up once the school year starts and the Fausts learn about the nature of evil and who Vileroy really is. The writing is clever and stylish (Bicé left a trail of moments like this, when people came away from her feeling better somehow~the kind of moments that were the very opposite of all those little evils that Madame Vileroy left in her wake) and the dips in and out of reality almost conceal the characters' superficiality. It's an absorbing, imaginative read, with a tense climax. Ages 14^up. (Aug. Also, check out the AWESOME trailer: [...]