A slow start leads to a fantastic ending
As a huge Marie Lu fan, I have to admit this was very different in style from her prior books, to the point that I wasn't sure I'd like it as I pushed through the first half. I didn't find myself really invested until a little after the halfway point--and then I was ALL IN.
This is actually just as much historical fiction as fantasy in that Marie really did her research into these siblings and how they might have grown up. There are two "worlds" in the book - one that follows the real struggles Nannerl likely went through growing up as a talented woman during this time period, and the Kingdom of Back, which was a REAL imaginary place she and Wolfgang made up to entertain themselves while they were touring as kids. In the book, this manifests into an actual place she and Woferl explore.
This book made me so grateful we have books. Until I picked this up, I had no idea Wolfgang Mozart had a sister. I had no idea she was just as much a prodigy as he was, or that he looked up to her, or that they toured Europe playing for kings and queens in their childhood together. I'm so glad Marie Lu is telling Maria Anna's story as she cannot, and I will be recommending this to literally everyone.
This is actually just as much historical fiction as fantasy in that Marie really did her research into these siblings and how they might have grown up. There are two "worlds" in the book - one that follows the real struggles Nannerl likely went through growing up as a talented woman during this time period, and the Kingdom of Back, which was a REAL imaginary place she and Wolfgang made up to entertain themselves while they were touring as kids. In the book, this manifests into an actual place she and Woferl explore.
This book made me so grateful we have books. Until I picked this up, I had no idea Wolfgang Mozart had a sister. I had no idea she was just as much a prodigy as he was, or that he looked up to her, or that they toured Europe playing for kings and queens in their childhood together. I'm so glad Marie Lu is telling Maria Anna's story as she cannot, and I will be recommending this to literally everyone.