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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
If you could encapsulate 1930s America into a meme it would be Disaster Girl. You can see your house is on fire and all you can think to do is smile cynically at the flames. You may also be smiling because it's possible you started the fire in the first place.
The Great Depression was in full swing. Large groups of unemployed men and women lived in huge sprawling camps called Hoovervilles. These camps were hot beds of sedition and malcontent. Bank robbers were national heroes and Communism was whispering its siren song to the poor and displaced. Across the pond a little man with a mustache and a loud voice sang a similar song to a Germany recently devastated from the loss of WW1 and the economic sanctions that followed.
Enter Dawn aka Aurora, bankrobber, gun runner, communist and polo player extraordinaire. Through her eyes we experience the upheaval in the states, the brutality of Communism in Russia and the pull of these opposing forces on a girl still trying to figure out who she really is. When focusing on her story this book is nothing less than fascinating, but unfortunately it often gets bogged down in the minutiae of the time period which can make large chunks a slog to get through. That being said it was still good enough I will be reading the next in the series when it comes out.
The Great Depression was in full swing. Large groups of unemployed men and women lived in huge sprawling camps called Hoovervilles. These camps were hot beds of sedition and malcontent. Bank robbers were national heroes and Communism was whispering its siren song to the poor and displaced. Across the pond a little man with a mustache and a loud voice sang a similar song to a Germany recently devastated from the loss of WW1 and the economic sanctions that followed.
Enter Dawn aka Aurora, bankrobber, gun runner, communist and polo player extraordinaire. Through her eyes we experience the upheaval in the states, the brutality of Communism in Russia and the pull of these opposing forces on a girl still trying to figure out who she really is. When focusing on her story this book is nothing less than fascinating, but unfortunately it often gets bogged down in the minutiae of the time period which can make large chunks a slog to get through. That being said it was still good enough I will be reading the next in the series when it comes out.
I just feel I sort of wasted my time. Will the trilogy be great? I think so, but this first book is a waste of time from a narrative point of view. It just takes you and leaves you. Now is it well written and do i expect great things for Dawn? Absolutely. I’m looking back at the Baroque Cycle and wondering what the first book was like and honestly can’t remember, but I think the BC would be one of my desert island books i loved it so much, so I hope i will love this series as much. But in retrospect I will wait for the final one before reading the second.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had a hard time getting Dawn/Aurora under my skin, but in the final third the book really caught me.
Now I am looking forwards to the continuation; I have a clear idea of where we are heading.
Now I am looking forwards to the continuation; I have a clear idea of where we are heading.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Complicated
Dawn, aka Aurora, daughter of a Montana cowgirl/outlaw and a dyed in the wool Communist spends her childhood in St. Petersburg and her teen years riding horses out west. She ends up in DC for the Bonus Army march, in Chicago for the 1933 World's Fair, and ultimately in Magnitogorsk, Russia, where she catches the eye of Stalin's secret police. Fascinating and at times harrowing, this is a story that demands the reader's full attention.