I was so freaking excited about The Price Guide to the Occult. After all, I am literally a LESLYE WALTON MEGAFAN. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is probably my favorite book written in the past century. I adore her unique writing style, and no book uses magical realism as beautifully and strangely (get it?) as Ava Lavender does.
But The Price Guide to the Occult is similar to Ava Lavender and NOTHING like Ava Lavender all at once. It’s MUCH creepier, for one thing. It’s also missing some of the magic Ava had (at least, in my opinion). It’s still an great read, but it didn’t consume me quite as deeply. That being said, I had high expectations going in (see my above obsession with Ava Lavender) so I doubt any book but an Ava sequel would have lived up to my dreams completely.
Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t like it. It was still a very soild 4.5 star read. Definitely worth picking up. Nor, for one, is a fantastic protagonist. She’s got this super creepy (like mass murderer creepy) mom who abadoned her when she was a child (which was probably the best thing her mom ever did for her daughter ever in her whole life). Her family history is fascinating (and reminded me a lot of Ava Lavender as it was also a multi-generational story of women who were unique and odd and interesting). Her ancestress, Rona, was absolutely amazing. I had so much fun reading her story.
Back to Nor – I really thought she was such a delight. She’s got super cool powers, she’s level-headed, and her love story is adorkable. Her family (except her crazy-butt mom) is awesome as well.
Nor’s Mom is seriously terrifying. There are no lengths she will not go to in order to get what she wants, and she was literally one of the most horrifying villains I’ve ever encounterd in a YA novel. Like, I was having nightmares just imagining she was real. I am impressed by how psycho she was.
The ending was extremely satisfying – and it will surprise you.
If you like strong female protagonists, magical realism, and creepy villains you are going to LOVE The Price Guide to the Occult. Now let’s just hope we don’t have to wait quite so long for another book from Leslye!