History Literature / TheDiviners2012

* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: A few words here and there in the first two books, but Yiddish has quite a place in ''Before The Devil Breaks You.'' Sam regularly peppers his conversation with Yiddish phrases, Mabel's dad has a few Yiddish terms of endearment for her, and even (nominal) Catholics Evie and Ling have picked up a few words. Fully Justified, given that fact that Yiddish culture was thriving in 1920's New York.

* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: Jake Marlowe apparently made one with the King of Crows; it's notes at one point that all his great successes started after the War, which was when he first made the breach between worlds that will enable the King of Crows to try to take over, and in the third book it's revealed he's receiving directions from him through The Eye.]]
** Actually, the King of Crows makes these with all sorts of people. [[spoiler: And considering his true identity as the embodiment of America, he regularly breaks them, as most clearly demonstrated when he offers to give Memphis his brother back, and instead gives Memphis a hallucination of Isaiah alive again.]]

* ResurrectedMurderer: In the first novel, John Hobbes murdered over 10 people for a ritual to become "[[TheAntichrist The Beast]]" and end the world but was executed before he could kill enough people for the ritual, and finally returning decades as a ghost to complete the ritual and becomes known as the "Pentacle Killer".

%% * MatzoFever: A running theme among the couples in the series. Most prominently featured in Sam and Evie, but there's also Mabel's parents, [[spoiler: Will and Rotke]], [[spoiler: Henry and David]], and [[spoiler: (probably) Arthur and Mabel.]]

''The Diviners'' is a 2012 young adult novel series by Creator/LibbaBray. Like her first hit series, the Literature/GemmaDoyle trilogy, ''The Diviners'' is a gothic historical novel and has been expanded into a series. Not to be confused with the 1974 [[TheDiviners1974 novel]] of the same name by ''Creator/MargaretLaurence''.

%% * AloneWithThePsycho: Evie at the end of the first book is alone with the kiler and also Theta is trapped at one point with the killer getting close but she escapes.

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%% * NiceHat: The girls do love their hats (or, occasionally, rhinestone headbands).

* %% AStormIsComing: Essentially ArcWords throughout the series, more and more so as TheDayOfReckoning approaches.

''The Diviners'' is a 2012 young adult novel by Creator/LibbaBray. Like her first hit series, the Literature/GemmaDoyle trilogy, ''The Diviners'' is a gothic historical novel and has been expanded into a series. Not to be confused with the 1974 [[TheDiviners1974 novel]] of the same name by ''Creator/MargaretLaurence''.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: Mabel, Sam, Miriam, Rotke, David, Aron. Mostly justified, for the setting.
* ActivistFundamentalistAntics: Sarah Snow and her supporters.
* ApocalypseCult: The Brethren.
* ArcWords: ''The time is now.''
** Also, although to a lesser degree, ''They never should have done it''.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The house. It's more than haunted. It's alive.
* AuthorAppeal: Libba Bray is a self-admitted huge fan of horror.

* BetaCouple: Theta and Memphis.

* BigBad: Book 1, John Hobbes
** Book 2, [[spoiler: Wae-Mae]]
** And throughout all three books, the King of Crows.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The men who move like shadows, whose presence subtly laces through the course of the book.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: Knowles End.
* BlessedWithSuck: It's not glamorous being a Diviner.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Evie, Theta (black hair), and Mabel, respectively.
* BodyHorror: The true form of the Beast.
* BrainlessBeauty: Evie isn't stupid, but to other people she comes across as shallow and unintelligent.
* BreakTheCutie: Oh, Evie. Poor Evie.
* BrokenBird: Little Betty Sue Bowers.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Evie describes her uncle as "a book that occasionally remembers to put on a bowtie."
* CannibalismSuperpower: [[spoiler: Blind Bill Johnson.]]
** [[spoiler: Also, the source of the serum that turns Jericho into the "New Jericho."]]
* CatchPhrase: ''Pos-i-tute-ly!''
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Gun]]: [[spoiler:Evie's coin pendant]].
* ConsummateLiar: Sam Lloyd.
* CoolTeacher: Uncle Will.

* CreepyChild: Young John Hobbes.
** And a few more examples in later books, especially Sara Beth.

* TheDayOfReckoning: The whole series is building up to one against the King of Crows. As of the end of book 3, it's imminent but has not started just yet.
* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Louis and Wae-Mae]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Practically everybody except Jericho, but especially Evie, Theta and Sam.

* DysfunctionJunction: Also typical of Libba Bray stories.

* FilleFatale: Evie, and how! And Theta as well.
* FishOutOfWater: Evie was this in Zenith. In NYC, Mabel feels this way intensely.
* TheFlapper: Evie.
* TheGenerationGap
* AGodAmI
-->[[AC:I-S-T-A-N-D-A-T-T-H-E-D-O-O-R-A-N-D-K-N-O-C-K]]\\
[[AC:I-A-M-T-H-E-B-E-A-S-T]]\\
[[AC:T-H-E-D-R-A-G-O-N-O-F-O-L-D]]
** In the third book, the New Jericho, at least for a short while.
* HauntedHouse: Knowles End, and how.

* MalevolentArchitecture: Knowles End again.
* MatzoFever: A running theme among the couples in the series. Most prominently featured in Sam and Evie, but there's also Mabel's parents, [[spoiler: Will and Rotke]], [[spoiler: Henry and David]], and [[spoiler: (probably) Arthur and Mabel.]]
* MyGirlIsNotASlut: Averted with Evie and Theta. While they're not especially sexually promiscuous, Theta is definitely not a virgin, and Evie in particular really enjoys flirting and making out with boys.
* NiceHat: The girls do love their hats (or, occasionally, rhinestone headbands).
* NotBloodSiblings: Theta and Henry tell their landlord they're brother and sister to get away with living together as an unmarried man and woman.

* PlatonicLifePartners: Henry and Theta. They live together, work together, and even try to pull of cons so that Henry can make it into the music industry together.

* ReligionOfEvil: The Cult of the Brethren.

* SacredScripture: The Book of the Brethren.
* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Gabriel]].
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Mabel, Will, and Jericho in that order]].

* SmokingIsCool: TruthInTelevision for the Twenties.
* SoulJar: Naughty John made his house into one. Also, the ritual to destroy Naughty John's spirit involves sealing his ghost into one of these.
* AStormIsComing: Essentially ArcWords throughout the series, more and more so as TheDayOfReckoning approaches.
* TheStoic: Jericho. The subtext in his backstory indicates he [[spoiler:could be susceptible to berserker-rages if he's not careful]].

!!'''The Diviners demonstrates the following tropes:'''

->''"Naughty John, Naughty John, does his work with his apron on.
->Cuts your throat and takes your bones, sells 'em off for a coupla stones."''

->“Naughty John, Naughty John, does his work with his apron on.
->Cuts your throat and takes your bones, sells 'em off for a coupla stones.”

* MisterXandMisterY: Mysterious agents travel in pairs and call each other e.g. Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson.