Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Mila Pavlichenko is a history student and a mother with an absent and onerous husband, as well as an extremely talented riflewoman. When Hitler invades Russia, she is called to serve and quickly earns notoriety as a deadly sniper--dubbed Lady Death. At the front she is a woman amongst men, a mother away from her son, a reluctant wife striving to escape her husbands shadow, leaning on her loyal partner and her lover for support. Together they endure success and tragedy when an injury takes her away from the front. Despite her desire to continue to fight, Russia sends her to the US as a propaganda piece to convince the USA to join the war. As she fosters a unexpected friendship with the First Lady of the United States and endures a long, mindless tour of the country, she soon realizes she has entered a new battleground and she must fight harder than ever to return to those she loves.
.
A highly fictionalized representation of a true war hero, which unfortunately took away from the value of the story. Mila alone is impressive, a woman achieving so much all on her own. I loved the parts that focused on her experiences during the war, her pursuit of humanity amongst the devastation, finding love in unexpected places, becoming a pawn of Russian propaganda despite the desire to speak her mind. This part was believable and heartrending. I was disappointed when it was suddenly over. I felt like her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt was underemphasized and did not feel relevant to the story. The climax was over-fictionalized, bordering on ridiculous, and thus I lost interest.
.
While this one wasn't a complete hit with me, I would happily pick up another of Kate Quinn's.
.
A highly fictionalized representation of a true war hero, which unfortunately took away from the value of the story. Mila alone is impressive, a woman achieving so much all on her own. I loved the parts that focused on her experiences during the war, her pursuit of humanity amongst the devastation, finding love in unexpected places, becoming a pawn of Russian propaganda despite the desire to speak her mind. This part was believable and heartrending. I was disappointed when it was suddenly over. I felt like her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt was underemphasized and did not feel relevant to the story. The climax was over-fictionalized, bordering on ridiculous, and thus I lost interest.
.
While this one wasn't a complete hit with me, I would happily pick up another of Kate Quinn's.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was fascinated by the story of Lyudmila and her fierce struggles as a sniper for Russia in WWII. The author’s note at the end explains that most of the people and events are based on facts and real events.
The sad thing about this story is that now Russia has invaded Ukraine (Lyudmila was actually Ukrainian in the USSR) and Ukrainians are fighting for their country’s freedom from the Russian invasion.
The sad thing about this story is that now Russia has invaded Ukraine (Lyudmila was actually Ukrainian in the USSR) and Ukrainians are fighting for their country’s freedom from the Russian invasion.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I absolutely loved learning about Lyudmila and her heroism during WW2. Kate Quinn is an amazing writer that keeps her reader hooked the entire story.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Interesting story of a real historical figure. Some of the fictionalized bits were absolutely eyerolls. Not sure why it was necessary and feels like it cheapens an already incredible story.
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced