Once Upon a Twilight!: Blog Tour: Down With the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn

Welcome to our stop on the Down With the Shine tour for Kate Karyus Quinn.
This tour is hosted by Irish Banana Tours.

Down With the Shine
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: April 26, 2016
Review Source: HarperTeen

There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.

These are things Lennie only learns when it's too late-after she brings some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn't mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles' moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their "important family legacy," she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.

Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can't be unmade...

Lennie Cash is by far the popular one. No, her dad made sure her reputation was sealed. He was a thief. Lennie lives with her three uncles, who illegally make and sell moonshine, and with her mother who's not mentally stable. Not at all. Months after her best friend, Dylan, goes missing then turns up dead Lennie is keeping a promise she made with her. She's going to steal some of her uncles' shine and head to a party she's not even invited to. Once there everyone gathers around her and one by one they make a wish and drink the moonshine. "May your wishes come true, at least this one..." are the words Lennie speaks after every wish is made. That's when she discovers her family's secret. They grant wishes. And Lennie just granted some insane wishes.

Down With the Shine is completely strange. There's plenty of dark mixed in with even more humor. We're dealing with Dylan's murder one page and the next we're dealing with a guy who wished everything he'd touch would turn into Cheetos.

Overall I enjoyed the strangeness and a lot of it had to do with Quinn's writing. I felt what was intended to be felt-- I was grossed out when I needed to be, I laughed when laughing was called for, and I was worried when hard topics came up. It was very easy to follow that I finished the book in one sitting. The aftermath of Lennie's wish granted was a big storyline we had to deal with, but in between were other story lines just as important like Dylan's murder, and the romance to name a couple.

Definitely pick up Down With the Shine if you love a little bit of dark mixed in with a lot of humor. You don't want to miss out on this one!

About Kate Karyus Quinn

Kate Karyus Quinn is an avid reader and menthol chapstick addict. She has lived in California and Tennessee, but recently made the move back to her hometown of Buffalo, New York, with her husband and two children in tow. She promised them wonderful people, amazing food, and weather that would... build character. Another Little Piece is her first novel.