3/5 Stars
It definitely feels strange to give 3 stars to a Marie Lu book. I liked the book well enough, but it just didn't grab me. It felt like the book couldn't quite decide what kind of story it wanted to be.
The story focuses on the Mozart siblings, Nannerl and Woferl, or Maria Anna Mozart and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The story starts from the truth. Wolfgang had a sister, four years older than him, who toured with him across the royal courts of Europe. Their father managed the pair of child prodigies and paintings of the pair of child musicians do exist. We also know, from letters between the two siblings, that Maria Anna (nicknamed Nannerl) composed music and Wolfgang (Woferl for short) would beg her to send the compositions to him. We also know from these letters that as children the two would entertain one another with stories about a made up kingdom that they called "Back". This story is Marie Lu's imagining of what these real life characters were like and what the Kingdom of Back would have been like if it were something more than just a story.
The historical fiction pieces of this book shine. They are where the story is at its best. Nannerl and Woferl are distinctly rounded characters, with their own personalities, dreams, and faults. Their father and mother also have wonderfully crafted personalities. These personalities are all shaped by the difficulties of their time, especially concerning the difficulties of being women of their time. Composition was a man's world and Nannerl could take no credit for her work, even if it was equal to that of her brother. The real life Maria Anna was known to be incredibly subservient to her father. This Nannerl is a little more brave and a little more bold.
The fantasy parts of this story, where Nannerl and Woferl discover the Kingdom of Back, and where Nannerl makes a deal with a fae prince in exchange for her deepest wish - to be remembered - are where the story feels a little lack-luster. She completes tasks for him, but the prince is a vindictive creature, or seems to be. Every time Nannerl displeases him, Woferl falls ill.
I didn't completely understand the elements of the Kingdom of Back or the reasons for Nannerl's tasks at first. Like nearly all fairy tales, you have to suspend belief and just roll with it in order to get anything out of the story. It does come together nicely though, by the end.
Nannerl herself is what kept me reading this story, even when I didn't care for the fantastical elements of the story. Marie Lu says it best in her author's note:
"What legacy could Nannerl have left if she’d been given the kind of attention and access that her brother enjoyed? What beautiful creations were lost to us forever because Nannerl was a woman? How many other countless talents have been silenced by history, whether for their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic circumstances?"
Indeed, what legacy could the real Maria Anna Mozart have left for her children and for the world? We will never know. None of her compositions survive.
It definitely feels strange to give 3 stars to a Marie Lu book. I liked the book well enough, but it just didn't grab me. It felt like the book couldn't quite decide what kind of story it wanted to be.
The story focuses on the Mozart siblings, Nannerl and Woferl, or Maria Anna Mozart and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The story starts from the truth. Wolfgang had a sister, four years older than him, who toured with him across the royal courts of Europe. Their father managed the pair of child prodigies and paintings of the pair of child musicians do exist. We also know, from letters between the two siblings, that Maria Anna (nicknamed Nannerl) composed music and Wolfgang (Woferl for short) would beg her to send the compositions to him. We also know from these letters that as children the two would entertain one another with stories about a made up kingdom that they called "Back". This story is Marie Lu's imagining of what these real life characters were like and what the Kingdom of Back would have been like if it were something more than just a story.
The historical fiction pieces of this book shine. They are where the story is at its best. Nannerl and Woferl are distinctly rounded characters, with their own personalities, dreams, and faults. Their father and mother also have wonderfully crafted personalities. These personalities are all shaped by the difficulties of their time, especially concerning the difficulties of being women of their time. Composition was a man's world and Nannerl could take no credit for her work, even if it was equal to that of her brother. The real life Maria Anna was known to be incredibly subservient to her father. This Nannerl is a little more brave and a little more bold.
The fantasy parts of this story, where Nannerl and Woferl discover the Kingdom of Back, and where Nannerl makes a deal with a fae prince in exchange for her deepest wish - to be remembered - are where the story feels a little lack-luster. She completes tasks for him, but the prince is a vindictive creature, or seems to be. Every time Nannerl displeases him, Woferl falls ill.
I didn't completely understand the elements of the Kingdom of Back or the reasons for Nannerl's tasks at first. Like nearly all fairy tales, you have to suspend belief and just roll with it in order to get anything out of the story. It does come together nicely though, by the end.
Nannerl herself is what kept me reading this story, even when I didn't care for the fantastical elements of the story. Marie Lu says it best in her author's note:
"What legacy could Nannerl have left if she’d been given the kind of attention and access that her brother enjoyed? What beautiful creations were lost to us forever because Nannerl was a woman? How many other countless talents have been silenced by history, whether for their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic circumstances?"
Indeed, what legacy could the real Maria Anna Mozart have left for her children and for the world? We will never know. None of her compositions survive.