Book Review of Another Faust

The Young Adult Novel Another Faust, by Daniel and Dina Nayeri, is one of the best stories I have ever read. The book starts out showing each of five children in unhappy situations, the reasons why they would make Faustian deals at the young age of ten years. The deals they made were with a beautiful woman that I would classify as crazy and eccentric. She has an eye that can hypnotize people into doing what she wants, and a knack for rearranging memories so that she can decide what people remember and what they forget. She brings the five children to a strange place, and raises them as though she were their adopted mother. She calls herself The Governess. Nobody they left behind has any memory of them having been parts of their lives before they leave with her.

The story progresses with the children turning fifteen, and attending one of the top high schools in New York City. Each one of the children has a power to get them what they want. But their powers cause harm to themselves and to others.

Victoria wants to be the best, but the rewards she achieves are only false ones. Valentin wants to undo his problems, but it drives him mad. Belle wants to be beautiful, but the consequence is that she smells sickening. Bice didn't make a deal, but the governess kidnapped her and gave her false memories to keep her there. Christian wants to get rich, but touching people can be sickening to them. In a major plot twist at the end of the story, find out how sour these Faustian deals really are to the children.

Do any of the children really get what they want? Do they get what they need? What are some of their struggles? Who has a guilty conscience? Who breaks the rules of their game? What is the giant plot twist at the end of the book? Does anyone triumph over his or her difficulties? You would have to read the book yourself to find out the truth.

Another Faust is one of the best Young Adult novels I have read. The story is suspenseful and fun to read. I would recommend it as a 9 on the scale of 1-10, 10 being the absolute best.

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri was published by Candlewick Press and copyrighted in 2009 by Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri Viergutz.