This was a really moving and heavy book. I don't know why I've been reading such heavy books lately, I feel like I need a comedy or something to mix it up.
I liked our main character Em, but one of my favorite things about her was that she has flaws. I think in young adult novels it's important for us to see characters who grow and learn. Em has a lot of anger inside of her towards men, which is understandable, given what happened to her older sister Nor. There's a journey of self-growth that happens with Em, but there is also growth between the two sisters.
I'm usually not a huge poetry fan, but I've been trying to read more of it. Intermixed with Em's story is the story that she is writing about Marguerite de Bressieux. So not only do we get Em's story and her growth, we also see Marguerite's growth and journey.
The characters where something that really shined in this novel for me. While the book was told from Em's point of view, we see strong characters all around her. I really enjoyed the character of Jess. I don't know if I have really read a book with a lot of characters that use the they/them pronoun, so it was nice to read about a character I enjoyed. While Em had the trauma to deal with from Nor's rape, Jess also had a lot going on with their parents' divorce. Jess is the one that introduces Em to Marguerite and brings her to a longsword class to help her research and learn about swords. Her parents also have a pretty cool collection of weapons. Her drawings add to Marguerite's story as well. Because not only do we get Em's poem story, we also get Jess' doodles and drawings at the start of most of the poem sections.
MVP: Jess
I liked our main character Em, but one of my favorite things about her was that she has flaws. I think in young adult novels it's important for us to see characters who grow and learn. Em has a lot of anger inside of her towards men, which is understandable, given what happened to her older sister Nor. There's a journey of self-growth that happens with Em, but there is also growth between the two sisters.
I'm usually not a huge poetry fan, but I've been trying to read more of it. Intermixed with Em's story is the story that she is writing about Marguerite de Bressieux. So not only do we get Em's story and her growth, we also see Marguerite's growth and journey.
The characters where something that really shined in this novel for me. While the book was told from Em's point of view, we see strong characters all around her. I really enjoyed the character of Jess. I don't know if I have really read a book with a lot of characters that use the they/them pronoun, so it was nice to read about a character I enjoyed. While Em had the trauma to deal with from Nor's rape, Jess also had a lot going on with their parents' divorce. Jess is the one that introduces Em to Marguerite and brings her to a longsword class to help her research and learn about swords. Her parents also have a pretty cool collection of weapons. Her drawings add to Marguerite's story as well. Because not only do we get Em's poem story, we also get Jess' doodles and drawings at the start of most of the poem sections.
MVP: Jess