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thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
This book is so beautifully written. <3 It very much gave me fairytale feels. I love Nannerl, her drive to be remembered is very relatable. I can definitely see myself reading this again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Medical content and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death
rochallor's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Death
Minor: Physical abuse
allyhoo811's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My admittedly disorganized thoughts after reading "The Kingdom of Back"
Positives (for me):
1) I don't feel this book should be marketed as YA. Yes, the protagonist is a teenage girl, but it feels much more general audience to me.
2) The writing style is beautiful and had a dreamlike quality. I found myself falling asleep on several occasions while reading this one -- not because it was boring, but the cadence of the words just kind of lulled me into dreamland lol
3) This book has some wonderful Dark "Peter Pan" vibes (reminded me a bit of Season 3 of Once Upon A Time in that way). If you enjoy that story, I'd try this.
4) Fans of portal fantasies should check this out.
5) The brother/sister relationship in this story is perfection.
6) I loved that I was never sure what the author intended the Kingdom of Back to be: was it a real place, a dream, I childhood game, or was Nannerl experiencing some kind of mental health issues (schizophrenia perhaps).
Negatives (for me):
1) The last 2 or 3 chapters (after the time jump to post-Mozart's death) really brought the book down for me. They didn't feel necessary to me and really left me confused (not in a good way this time) to the author's intentions for what the Kingdom was and what the theme of the story was. It should have just ended without these chapters included.
2) There are several historical inaccuracies (at least according to some very basic google research). It doesn't greatly affect the story, but if you like researching your historical fiction/fantasy you will find it is there.
Positives (for me):
1) I don't feel this book should be marketed as YA. Yes, the protagonist is a teenage girl, but it feels much more general audience to me.
2) The writing style is beautiful and had a dreamlike quality. I found myself falling asleep on several occasions while reading this one -- not because it was boring, but the cadence of the words just kind of lulled me into dreamland lol
3) This book has some wonderful Dark "Peter Pan" vibes (reminded me a bit of Season 3 of Once Upon A Time in that way). If you enjoy that story, I'd try this.
4) Fans of portal fantasies should check this out.
5) The brother/sister relationship in this story is perfection.
6) I loved that I was never sure what the author intended the Kingdom of Back to be: was it a real place, a dream, I childhood game, or was Nannerl experiencing some kind of mental health issues (schizophrenia perhaps).
Negatives (for me):
1) The last 2 or 3 chapters (after the time jump to post-Mozart's death) really brought the book down for me. They didn't feel necessary to me and really left me confused (not in a good way this time) to the author's intentions for what the Kingdom was and what the theme of the story was. It should have just ended without these chapters included.
2) There are several historical inaccuracies (at least according to some very basic google research). It doesn't greatly affect the story, but if you like researching your historical fiction/fantasy you will find it is there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Xenophobia
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Physical abuse
malloryfitz's review
adventurous
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Premise- (3/5) I'm not particularly into classical music, though I did know that Nannerl Mozart existed, and that she was as musically talented as her brother. But I do love a good history-magic mash-up, and I've liked some of Marie Lu's stuff a lot. I know this is a bit of a departure from Lu's usual stuff, which is always exciting to see.
Characters- (3/5) Nannerl is a solid protagonist, and pretty much what you'd expect from the premise. Her identities as a musician, composer, woman, sister, and daughter, are complicated and frequently conflicting. She does a lot of self-growth throughout the book, but remained relatable throughout. It was interesting to see Wolfgang from this perspective, as a child and younger brother, rather than the celebrated, bewigged young man we may usually think of. Hyacinth fit his setting and purpose quite well, although it would've been neat if he had more clearly explained motives.
Plot- (3.5/5) Despite not being very long, there were moments when it felt like things were in a lull, moving more slowly than they needed to. But I really enjoyed the twist at the end--I sort of saw it coming, but I thought that Lu was clever with the way she made it work throughout the story. She also did a nice job of balancing the real-world plot with the storyline of the Kingdom of Back itself. That being said, the historical plot was definitely (perhaps unsurprisingly) a lot less exciting for me and didn't always hold my attention as well. However, the ending was really nice. Also!! It's suuuuuuper cool that (according to Lu's author's note at the end) there is historical record in the Mozart papers of something called the Kingdom of Back!
World- (3/5) My favorite thing about the world of the Kingdom of Back is the way Lu tied it to the children's imaginations. That's such a powerful, wonderful, spooky idea. I liked that we got to see Nannerl and Woferl build pieces of the world in real time, and a lot of those details felt very childlike (in a good way). Some of it was pretty standard fairy-world type stuff, and Lu's historical world didn't have the same kind of depth. Not that I think the book necessarily needed it, but it did feel a bit two-dimensional compared to Back (and maybe that was intentional).
Writing- (3/5) This felt a bit closer to the middle-grade end of the YA spectrum, which is not a bad thing, but did feel sort of evident in the writing. I also think Lu was sort of finding her feet in the historical vein since she's written a lot of sci-fi otherwise. But the writing felt appropriate for the novel! Just not particularly noteworthy for me.
Overall- (3.1/5) The Kingdom of Back pays homage to a lesser-known but much deserving musical genius, but Lu's focus is on Nannerl Mozart's relationship with her brother as much as her musical talent and intelligence. This was a departure from a lot of Lu's previous work, but it was a neat blend of history and fantasy. She crafts a clever plot in the fantastical mirror world of back, while dealing with issues of historical sexism and the complexity of family relationships. The writing felt a bit young, and the subject material didn't quite connect with me on a personal level. The world building also felt stronger and more exciting for Back than for historical Austria. But I think Lu very much has accomplished her purpose in bringing Nannerl Mozart to life, both as a skilled musician and composer and as a caring sister and complicated person.
Characters- (3/5) Nannerl is a solid protagonist, and pretty much what you'd expect from the premise. Her identities as a musician, composer, woman, sister, and daughter, are complicated and frequently conflicting. She does a lot of self-growth throughout the book, but remained relatable throughout. It was interesting to see Wolfgang from this perspective, as a child and younger brother, rather than the celebrated, bewigged young man we may usually think of. Hyacinth fit his setting and purpose quite well, although it would've been neat if he had more clearly explained motives.
Plot- (3.5/5) Despite not being very long, there were moments when it felt like things were in a lull, moving more slowly than they needed to. But I really enjoyed the twist at the end--I sort of saw it coming, but I thought that Lu was clever with the way she made it work throughout the story. She also did a nice job of balancing the real-world plot with the storyline of the Kingdom of Back itself. That being said, the historical plot was definitely (perhaps unsurprisingly) a lot less exciting for me and didn't always hold my attention as well. However, the ending was really nice. Also!! It's suuuuuuper cool that (according to Lu's author's note at the end) there is historical record in the Mozart papers of something called the Kingdom of Back!
World- (3/5) My favorite thing about the world of the Kingdom of Back is the way Lu tied it to the children's imaginations. That's such a powerful, wonderful, spooky idea. I liked that we got to see Nannerl and Woferl build pieces of the world in real time, and a lot of those details felt very childlike (in a good way). Some of it was pretty standard fairy-world type stuff, and Lu's historical world didn't have the same kind of depth. Not that I think the book necessarily needed it, but it did feel a bit two-dimensional compared to Back (and maybe that was intentional).
Writing- (3/5) This felt a bit closer to the middle-grade end of the YA spectrum, which is not a bad thing, but did feel sort of evident in the writing. I also think Lu was sort of finding her feet in the historical vein since she's written a lot of sci-fi otherwise. But the writing felt appropriate for the novel! Just not particularly noteworthy for me.
Overall- (3.1/5) The Kingdom of Back pays homage to a lesser-known but much deserving musical genius, but Lu's focus is on Nannerl Mozart's relationship with her brother as much as her musical talent and intelligence. This was a departure from a lot of Lu's previous work, but it was a neat blend of history and fantasy. She crafts a clever plot in the fantastical mirror world of back, while dealing with issues of historical sexism and the complexity of family relationships. The writing felt a bit young, and the subject material didn't quite connect with me on a personal level. The world building also felt stronger and more exciting for Back than for historical Austria. But I think Lu very much has accomplished her purpose in bringing Nannerl Mozart to life, both as a skilled musician and composer and as a caring sister and complicated person.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Minor: Death
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