Life is no fairytale, and not every story ends with the break of a curse. For the Everly family, this couldn’t be more true.
Every generation, the most talented Everly is taken into the darkness, never to return. Violet Everly is the only person of her generation. The book “The City of Stardust” by Georgia Summers is a key to another world and Violet Everly’s adventure.
The story starts at the beginning of the end for Violet Everly. Violet has spent her whole life hidden away from the world in the Everly house. At the age of 10, Violet’s mother, Marianne, left Violent with her uncle, Ambrose, while Marianne tried to break the Everly curse. Then, when she was 12, Violet was no longer hidden and met Penelope, the woman who had been terrorizing her family for years. Unbeknownst to Violet, while she was getting her first glimpse of a world that only existed in her storybooks, her uncle was making a deal in an effort to protect Violet from the curse. At 21, Violet learns she has one year to find her mother and break the curse before becoming its next victim. Now, with six weeks to go and no closer to finding her mother than she was a year ago, Violet must decide if her mother is truly the key to breaking the curse.
One of the best scenes in the book is when Violet first meets Aleksander. Aleksander is Violet’s love interest and the assistant of Penelope. They are talking in the kitchen when Aleksander upsets Violet by implying that her mother will never come back for her. She holds herself back from fighting him, just like the characters do in the books she reads. As Violet says, “Hand-to-hand combat. No mercy- nothing but the firm hand of justice.” While Violet knows that her mother left her, she still believes that her mother will come back to get her one day.
Out of all the characters, Violet is the most likable. While Violet spends most of the book chasing after her mother, she doesn’t run from her family curse, which makes her more admirable. She is a very well-developed character, evolving from the start of the book, where she depended on her mother to save her, before maturing and taking matters into her own hands. Her desire for travel and adventure makes her a more relatable character.
Aleksander is a complicated but interesting character. He is determined to accomplish his dream of becoming a scholar, even when others around him look down on him. Throughout the book, Aleksander helps Violet in her search for her mother and shows her the magic of a world she has only heard stories about. Though Aleksander is a little exasperating at times, his tragic and complex backstory makes him a more likable character that readers can connect with.
This story is easy to get wrapped up in. The characters are well-developed and relatable, even with the characters that are meant to be disliked. The author is especially good at writing the more gorey and mysterious scenes. The book has just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing without being too confusing. There are a few questions that the author leaves unanswered, possibly pointing to a sequel. This book may interest readers who enjoy adventure and magic. It is a great young adult story that delves into other worlds inhabited by gods and magical keys.
Haley “Kat” Shepherd
