Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Hester

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

36 reviews

jedore's review

dark hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

"There's no New World anywhere on earth...no matter what we tell ourselves, men are all the same everywhere. We imagine a utopia, settle a new land, and declare that we're making something new and better. But it's folly, Isobel. Man's nature is full of shadows and dark desires. In every man's heart there is a coffin and a grave, that is what I know."

If you enjoy historical fiction about strong women navigating a world stacked against them, Hester delivers. While it follows a familiar formula for the genre, the writing was strong, and the fresh insights kept me engaged. More than anything, I loved Isobel, the main character—her resilience, artistry, and survival instinct made me deeply invested in her journey.

The novel’s biggest strength lies in its portrayal of women’s struggles across centuries, particularly regarding accusations of witchcraft. The story moves between the 1600s and 1800s, showing how these allegations were often used to control and silence women. The relationships between women in the book were complex—some lifted each other up, while others betrayed or tore each other down. And, as is so often the case in history, the men surrounding these strong women were weak, needing control to feel powerful.

Though the supernatural elements were light, the book had an almost spellbinding quality, weaving historical reality with folklore and imagination. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a solid, engaging read with a fresh take on the legacy of The Scarlet Letter.

Laurie Lico Albanese was inspired by the idea that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter could have been influenced by a real woman. Her research into synesthesia, Scottish history, and women’s hidden contributions to literature shaped Hester into a unique blend of fact and fiction.

I had never heard of color synesthesia before reading this book. It’s a neurological condition where people associate colors with letters, numbers, or sounds—essentially experiencing one sense through another. In Hester, this trait added a rich layer to Isobel’s character and her artistic perspective.

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kstonecypher's review

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This one blew me away. When it started I thought it might be a sort of mediocre romance novel of scandal in Salem society. It was so much more than that! The pace really picked up after describing the main character's early life in Scotland and soon the author wove an intricate web of characters with dynamic motives and developing stories. Of particularly note is the author's incorporation of black voices and characters, which add significant depth to the setting as well as the development of the main character and love interests. The author described the experience of isolation and a feeling of being outcast as a single mother and abuse survivor vividly in a way that many can relate to. This really added emotion to the story. I loved this book and can't recommend it enough!

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nataliecoyne's review

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I honestly feel a little bad about only giving this 3.25 stars, because the final few chapters were very interesting

(with everything about how multiple characters were helping runaway slaves).

Unfortunately, though, I found most of this book to be boring. I did push myself through it quite fast, but it was largely so that I could move on to something else. Admittedly, though, I've never actually read The Scarlet Letter so maybe, if I had, this would've been more interesting to me and I could've picked up on some "easter eggs" of sorts that I didn't know were meant to be easter eggs/references until much later in the book when they're directly addressed (for example, the visit to the graveyard). I probably even missed more because there were probably ones that weren't directly addressed.

Probably reading the original source material should be prioritized when picking up a retelling, but I recently enjoyed a different retelling (James) without ever having read the original source material (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) so I thought I'd be fine. Plus, from how I read the book description, this wasn't fully a retelling, but more of a behind-the-scenes of the inspiration of the book type thing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Essentially I just don't think this book was for me. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade others from reading it, though, especially if you've read and enjoyed The Scarlet Letter.

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cdnpittsburgher's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the narrator in the audio version of this book. When narrating as Isobel, she was incredible and truly embodied the character.

I disliked the men in Isobel's tale as much as I detested the men in the OG Scarlet Letter that was required reading in Gr 11 American Lit. Selfish humans disguised as upstanding citizens certainly is a relatable experience, and women pay the price.

There was a lot of information about "The Salem Deception" that killed 19 people. As well, the rudiments of the North American Atlantic slave trade is presented and an introduction to the the Underground Railroad.

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