Book Review: Another Faust

Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

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Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri is a novel about five children—Bicé, Belle, Victoria, Valentine, and Christian—who all disappeared from England one night, only to appear again in New York as teenagers with their governess, Madame Vileroy. Their mysterious appearance causes rumors to arise, and their outstanding progress in one of New York’s most prestigious high school adds to the aura of strangeness that surrounds the five. As the group continues to rise above with the help of their governess, who gives each one of them a gift (ability to stop time, to have extreme beauty, to read minds, to turn back time, and to steal anything), the five soon find that their successes come with a cost: their souls. As their wicked governess continues to supply their gifts, each individual struggles with whether to continue with their sins or to give up their power while still given the chance.

In my opinion, Another Faust has an extremely captivating story line that I didn’t expect it to have when I went into reading, and it was also thought-provoking. The way the authors crafted the characters was another thing that I enjoyed because I can relate to each of them through my struggles as a human with perfection and the prices I’ve paid in my own life to overachieve. However, although the premise and the characters of the story are amazing, I sensed as if something was missing while reading; it just wasn’t enough. My only complaint about this novel is I feel the authors could have expanded more on the plot and the characters to make it richer darker, deeper, and more elaborate—if it did, it might’ve been one of the most clever and creative books I’ve ever read.

Although Another Faust may not be at its full potential, I believe it is worth the read. It has enough complexity to get the reader wanting to find out more and truly is a refreshing supernatural read.