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Having thoroughly enjoyed Marisha Pessl’s Night Film and Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I was eager for another taste of her clever and smart style. Luckily, she published a young adult book last year, so I grabbed it to sate my need for more. Darkly doesn’t have the mesmerizing atmosphere or the menacing feel of Night Film; the tone leans more toward the lighter one of Special Topics, with touches of the mystery of the first. I could feel that it’s aimed toward a younger crowd.
Dia Gannon is fascinated by Louisiana Veda, who years before created a couple dozen intense, complex board games that gained a cult following. After Veda died, her company, Darkly, stopped producing more copies, and the games are valued at prices that rival fine art.
When a call goes out for a Darkly “internship” for the summer for teens, Dia applies. She’s amazed when she’s actually chosen, with just six other 17-year-olds. They’re all brought from around the world to London, and then taken out to the highly secret location of the Darkly factory, now abandoned. They have no idea what to expect, but then they learn they must solve the mystery of a missing teen. The boy was secretly playing the last game Veda ever created, but which was stolen and disappeared right before her sudden death 40 years earlier. Who stole that last creation, and now who has quietly induced teens to play it?
I guess I was hoping for something like Night Film, because that book is utterly unforgettable. But as I mentioned, while this frequently talks about “dark and scary” happenings and old secrets/ mysteries, it is definitely aimed at younger readers, so it’s not as intense. On the other hand, much like Special Topics, Darkly has a poignant thread that runs through and gets pulled to the forefront at the end, and I very much liked that. Pessl is such a fantastic writer who creates smart books. I look forward to more!
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 2 uses of strong language, fewer than 10 uses of mild language, 10 instances of the name of Deity in vain, and a few uses of British profanity. A few instances of kissing and some references to a character supporting herself through prostitution, though never using that word. Violence includes danger and peril and some injuries with blood.
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