The NerdHerd Reads: "Another Faust" by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Title: Another Faust

Author: Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Series: The Marlowe School #1

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

On a single night, five children suddenly vanish from their homes in Paris, Glasgow, Rome, and London. Years later, five enigmatic teenagers make an impressive entrance at an exclusive New York holiday party with their strange but beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. Rumor and intrigue follow the Faust children to the elite Manhattan Marlowe school, where their very presence brings unexplainable misfortune.Using "gifts" given to them by Madame Vileroy, these mysterious teenagers rise to suspicious heights at Marlowe. Though at first their abilities seem almost childlike in their simplicity, they soon learn that their newfound talents for cheating, stealing, hiding, and lying are far more potent than they had ever imagined – and far more addictive.Ignoring the side effects of pursuing their individual obsession, bargaining with the very devil in their midst as they claw their way to the top, these five ambitious teens draw ever nearer to their goals… until two of them uncover a secret even more shocking than their own most unforgivable sins.

This was actually a really good book. I was surprised by how much I liked it, though I personally cannot give it a five-star rating. To be honest, when I purchased it, it was because it was the last signed copy that Barnes & Noble had, and Mr. Nayeri had doodled a "square bear" in it, which I still find adorable to this day.

So, a bit of history for those who don't know: Faust was a German intellectual who strived for greater knowledge and made a deal with the devil to obtain that level of knowledge. The devil sent the demon Mephistopheles to form the contract and after twenty four years, the devil claimed Faust's soul.

The term "Faustian" is used to describe similar situations in which a person of high ambition makes a deal with the devil or other demon, selling his or her soul for selfish desires. (If there are any anime nerds with me, Black Butler and Blue Exorcist should be on your list of shows to watch, or you should be smiling because you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

*smileyface*

Okay. Seriously, though. I did enjoy the book. Five different contracts all happening under the same roof allows for interesting developments. A mind-reader, a time controller, a time traveler – those are just the ones I can easily put a term to. The other two consist of a girl who lies about her appearance – she looks extremely beautiful, but on the inside she's rotten. Literally – and a boy who can steal traits such as strength, stamina, and basically one's life force just by touching him. Dude. I'd not mind having some of those powers.

Because of five main characters, I've got the ones I love, the ones I feel extremely bad for, and the ones (really just one) I cannot stand. The Nayeri siblings do a fantastic job of keeping the kids' lives interesting and keeping the reader glued to the book to see what happens next. And the end? Greatest twist I didn't see coming.

I also happen to find this sort of stuff interesting to a degree. I wouldn't necessarily say I like demons, but I like demons. Not like, like like them, but I enjoy stories with them. I like darker, creepier stuff. Not "evil" stuff, per se, but it is interesting.

I don't even know anymore. I'm rambling aimlessly now.

Anyways, the novel was great. Not "I-fell-in-love-with-it-to-the-point-of-reading-it-a-million-times-a-week" great, but great nonetheless. Go give it a glance.

*Note* Hey guys, Rachel here. I just wanted to add something. I also read this book, and would rate it a 4. However, I must give a…warning, if you will. This book starts out very slow. For me personally, it took a long time for me to get into it. Honestly, I don't know why I kept reading as long as I did. It did take me a while to read it, but I'm glad I did. It doesn't pick up until about halfway through, but when it does, it is seriously such a good book. Like Dallas said, unexpected plot twist at the end. So I encourage you that if you're going to give it a try, you may enjoy it right of the bat like Dallas did, or it may lag a bit at first like it did for me. Basically the whole point of this was to tell you to not give up on it, because it's worth it in the end :)