Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

I picked this book up because it was at Five Below for two dollars and it had a cool cover.  You can't pass up a deal like that!  If you have a Five Below, start checking there for books!  I figured, even if it sucks, I'm out two dollars.  But!  It didn't suck at all!

Merciful Truth and her brother, Gospel, have just pulled their dead mother into the kitchen and stowed her under the table.  It was a long illness, and they wanted to bury her, they truly did.  But it's far too cold outside, and they know they won't be able to dig into the frozen ground.  The Minister who lives them, and preaches in animal form, doesn't make them feel any better about what they've done.

Merciful calms her guilty feelings, but that only lasts until, from the other room, she hears a voice she thought she'd never hear again.  It's her mother's voice, and it's singing a lullaby...


Great description, isn't it?!  And let me tell you, it barely scratches the surface of what's actually going on here.

We have incredible characters in a fascinating world.  I don't want to give any spoilers, but I can tell you that this isn't just another monster book.  Oh  no!  Mom's back from the dead!  She must be a zombie!  NOPE!  Put that theory away and just sit back and enjoy the ride!  You won't figure out what's actually going on until it's far too late to do anything about it.  Most of the book I found myself saying 'but!  but over here.....!'  and by the ending, it all made sense.

The ending!  That was the best part of this book!  One word.  It's only one word.  I finished reading this nearly two weeks ago and I'm still haunted by that one word.  I know, you're tempted to pick up the book and find out what that word is before reading it.  DON'T!  First, it won't make any sense to you unless you read the book first.  Second, you'll ruin the magic.

There are some serious religious undercurrents running here, but don't let that be a factor in whether you read it or not.  Our main characters have to figure out what they believe, and that's the fun part for you as the reader.  You don't get any control.  You have to sit back and suffer through their consequences, and it's deliciously excruciating!

I would consider this a young adult book, but don't hand this over to a kid that's prone to nightmares.  Definitely do not give this to a child that's recently experienced the loss of a loved one.