Eve is being brought to her new home at the beginning of the story. Malcolm, who she is obviously familiar with, and Aunt Nicki, who she doesn't know or trust, are her companions. Eve doesn't remember anything about her past. Not only that, but she doesn't know anything about the world. Like how to undo her seat belt, or what pizza is. Malcolm has been trying to teach her these things for several months.
Eve has visions. After these visions, she blacks out. She doesn't know if the visions are true or just dreams. She knows she's in a witness protection program and that she's had painful surgeries to change the way she looks. The magical killer is still after her. She meets some other kids in the program, but doesn't know whether to trust them or not. They all have weird magical abilities too. Malcolm and Nicki are trying to get Eve to remember what happened during these brutal murders so she can testify.
They get Eve a job as a page at the library, and she meets another page named Zach. Eve and Zach eventually become romantically involved and Zach learns some of Eve's secrets.
There is a lot more to Conjured, but it's best left for you to discover. Conjured is very confusing at times because Eve is confused, and we are hearing the story through her. So we discover all the weirdness right along with Eve.
And Conjured does get weird. About the last 100 pages get very strange and very magical. I really didn't like how steeped in fantasy the resolution turned out to be, but once again, it's really unique. I'm not a huge high fantasy fan, so the otherworldly parts seemed like somewhat of a cop out to me.
If you like books with a lot of unique magic and quite a bit of suspense at the end, you will enjoy Conjured. Just realize that the confusion is all part of the experience.
Published by Walker, 2013
Purchased copy
358 pages (qualifies for my Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge!)
Rating: 3.5/5
Huh, I might have to give it a try, if only because of the unique premise! You're right, it's hard to find something with a truly unique idea. Also, I do love Sarah Beth Durst's stuff. Great thoughts!
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