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Book Summary and Reviews of The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

The Cost of All Things

by Maggie Lehrman

  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Published:
  • May 2015, 416 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets We Were Liars in this thought-provoking and brilliantly written debut that is part love story, part mystery, part high-stakes drama.

What would you pay to cure your heartbreak? Banish your sadness? Transform your looks? The right spell can fix anything…. When Ari's boyfriend Win dies, she gets a spell to erase all memory of him. But spells come at a cost, and this one sets off a chain of events that reveal the hidden—and sometimes dangerous—connections between Ari, her friends, and the boyfriend she can no longer remember.

Told from four different points of view, this original and affecting novel weaves past and present in a suspenseful narrative that unveils the truth behind a terrible tragedy.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"An engrossing, emotionally resonant spin on the old adage: Be careful what you wish for." - Kirkus Reviews

"The premise of Lehrman's debut is quite intriguing. Unfortunately, the novel does not deliver due to stereotypical characters and a story that turns convoluted very quickly." - School Library Journal

"Lehrman's prose pulses with dark emotion…and the steady desperation of her characters is both disturbing and compelling." - Publishers Weekly

"A memorable debut, one that reminds readers to be careful what they wish for, because, yes, they may just get it." - Booklist

"The most creepily awesome cautionary tale ever. Magic—or hekame—does exist, and wishes can be granted...but always at a cost. Brilliant, provocative, and absolutely spellbinding." - Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of The Infinite Moment of Us

"Maggie Lehrman nimbly reveals secrets wrapped around our most basic need. The Cost of All Things is a walk of the soul." - Rita Williams-Garcia, Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner

This information about The Cost of All Things was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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