Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black

TL;DR Blue searches for her sister and finds herself, too

TBR #1392, added Jul 22 2015

finished 7/15/16

I was cised to get my hands on Devil and the Bluebird. I've been really interested in the "deal with the devil" trope in stories because of working on Casanova, and the premise is so good that I would've picked it up either way. 

Unfortunately I fell into a reading slump about halfway through the book and almost returned it to the library without finishing it x( But I didn't! I picked it up again after renewing it for a second time with the determination to finish it. Honestly, once I read a couple pages past where I'd been stuck, it was really easy to finish. 

I loved how character-driven the book was. Blue and her family were so compelling as characters, and I loved how their relationships were shown. They weren't perfect but they were still a family, and they fell victim to human nature. Blue's character growth was very organic and I enjoyed reading about her journey.

Though I have to be honest, the physical journey was hard for me to read. It confronts a lot about human nature, both good and bad, and I had to put the book down a few times because I didn't want to think too much about the negative aspects. So much has happened in the month and a half that I've had this book in my possession and I wasn't ready to face the struggles Blue did while facing the aftermath of terrorist attacks and police brutality in the real world. 

So that's a lot of the reason I had to put the book down for a couple weeks. I think Devil and the Bluebird handled its topics delicately, and it definitely shows such a positive side to human nature, too, but it was a little too much for me to handle for a period of time. 

I'm also really happy with the turn the book took shortly after I picked it back up. It got progressively more positive and uplifting after that point and it ended so perfectly. I came very close to crying when I finished reading. 

Devil and the Bluebird was also a much better experience with magical realism than I had with A Fierce and Subtle Poison. The magical aspects aren't explained much better, but in Devil and the Bluebird there are at least hints of where the magic comes from and how it is bigger than just Blue's journey. 

TL;DR it's a little gritty at times but it the ending is definitely worth it. Devil and the Bluebird is definitely a "the journey is more important than the destination", character-driven book. I loved it.