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alixlowe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As someone who is chronically ill, this book helped me. I appreciate that this is a retelling I a famous story, but I found the "mystery" a little predictable. The book is YA and reads that way, but it is charming, adventurous and I wish I'd had it when I was 13.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Xenophobia and Sexual assault
stripes_and_naps's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Sexism and Ableism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
I really enjoyed this book. I was thrilled to find an #ownvoices book about POTS and the authentic disability representation shines. The reasons I didn’t give it 5 stars were that I had a hard time getting into the story as the first part of the book is slower paced, and the French phrases and titles were a bit confusing as they weren’t always translated/explained. However the second point was easy to overcome using the translation feature on my ebook reader. Overall I would definitely recommend this book for readers looking for authentic chronic illness representation, or anyone who loves the strong female leads of a Tamora Pierce novel.mengzhenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
Less of a retelling than a continuation of the Three Musketeers except now it's four instead of three. Very cute but nothing groundbreaking with the writing and stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Sexual assault
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
abookwormspov's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault
buffy87's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My best friend lives with POTS so to read a book with a MC who also lives with POTS is surreal and not something I'd ever expect to read.
Writing: good enough? don't get too distracted by bad writing or weird moments. That being said there were a lot of moments where I was like "wait what's happening and who's here now?" There is French italicized throughout, but either immediately translated or we are given enough context clues. It is weird that the English and French is alternated, but I was able to get past it. Others might get hung up on the weirdness of them speaking in English and translating French when they're all French lol.
Plot: Even though I kind of expected some of it, I'm glad it ended the way it did because I feel it helps the final development of Tania's character. It is slightly predictable and therefore wasn't too exciting but I wasn't reading for the actual plot - rather more intrigued with Tania's journey.
Thoughts: A YA book with a little bit of queer representation, disability representation, and a book based on female empowerment? I'd recommend to all of my students. There is a bit of romance as well but I didn't mind it BC it didnt go too far. It's not an amazing stand out novel in the sense of a spine-tingling page turner. However, I believe that any younger girls or womxn who live with chronic illness would definitely appreciate this telling.
Writing: good enough? don't get too distracted by bad writing or weird moments. That being said there were a lot of moments where I was like "wait what's happening and who's here now?" There is French italicized throughout, but either immediately translated or we are given enough context clues. It is weird that the English and French is alternated, but I was able to get past it. Others might get hung up on the weirdness of them speaking in English and translating French when they're all French lol.
Plot: Even though I kind of expected some of it, I'm glad it ended the way it did because I feel it helps the final development of Tania's character. It is slightly predictable and therefore wasn't too exciting but I wasn't reading for the actual plot - rather more intrigued with Tania's journey.
Thoughts: A YA book with a little bit of queer representation, disability representation, and a book based on female empowerment? I'd recommend to all of my students. There is a bit of romance as well but I didn't mind it BC it didnt go too far. It's not an amazing stand out novel in the sense of a spine-tingling page turner. However, I believe that any younger girls or womxn who live with chronic illness would definitely appreciate this telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Sexual assault, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
dragonantlers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
bookforthought's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I picked up One for All, but a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers sounded like something I would enjoy, and I was entirely right in that!
This book had everything I could have wanted: spies and court intrigue, balls and swordfights, a school that isn't at all what it seems, and a delightful found family. The story starts off a bit slow as we're introduced to Tania and her struggles to live a normal life. She suffers from a condition that causes her to have frequent dizzy spells and fainting, which we know to be POTS but in 17th-century France causes her to be dismissed as a "sick girl" who'll never amount to anything. That is, from everyone except her father. Tania's relationship with her father was beautiful, and the way he always believed in her and pushed her to defy other people's expectations and labels was heartwarming. Until he was murdered.
The pace picks up when Tania arrives in Paris to join a mysterious finishing school as her father's last wish. Between training, fencing, learning high-society etiquette and uncovering a potential assassination plot, Tania will need to learn whom to trust: her newfound sisters-in-arms or the charming Étienne?
I loved the way the author handled this work compared to the original. Unlike some other retellings, this isn't a scene-by-scene replay of the original with female characters. Rather, she took the essence of the story and weaved something new and original from it, so much so that at times I felt as though this could almost be a companion novel to The Three Musketeers rather than simply a retelling. I also liked the inclusion of French words and phrases throughout the novel, as it helped to bring the setting to life for me, although sometimes there were a few needless repetitions in translation.
Reading about this time period was also very interesting, as I realised I knew hardly anything about La Fronde and the following years (as always, thank you Wikipedia for helping me fill in the gaps!), and I love a book that pushes me to do some research and learn something new! The plot was captivating enough, although I had guessed most of the surprises (as many avid, adult readers will probably also do), but it does a good job for a YA novel and a debut at that.
The representation in this was also a major plus point for me. The book is OwnVoices, as the author herself shares Tania's chronic health problems and is a fencer. This was really cool and shown through the writing, making it all feel more authentic. As a former fencer myself, I particularly loved those scenes and how real they felt. Alongside the disability rep, there are also discussions on women's rights and social expectations, as well as a lovely LGBT rep. This last one I particularly appreciated because it was handled so delicately and not used as a conflict point. There was also a bit of social commentary, with references being made to the poorest and most marginalised in society, and how they are often exploited and used as scapegoats by the higher classes - again, one of my favourite themes (as you may have gathered if you're a regular around here!).
The dynamics between the characters were probably my favourite thing. I adore the found family trope, and this was one of the best I read recently. Every interaction between Tania and her newfound sisters Portia, Théa and Aria was an absolute joy, and I loved every moment spent together. The individual character development wasn't quite as strong for me. This is a YA novel and the characters mostly act their age, which I'm fine with, but it felt as though there was something missing in their characterisation and growth. Tania especially was a little bit of a disappointment in this sense: I loved the fact that she grew more confident as the novel progressed, but she seemed to continue to lack common sense and maturity by the end.
I accompanied this with the audiobook, which is narrated by Mara Wilson (forever Matilda in my mind). She does a wonderful job of it, both with the English and the French lines. Definitely worth it if you like audiobooks.
Overall, this was an extremely pleasant read, expertly mixing adventure with a number of social issues and some great representation. I had a few minor issues with it, but they didn't take much away from my enjoyment of this book and are very likely things that will be ironed out in future works. If this is Lainoff's debut, I'm really curious to see what she'll write next!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Chronic illness
Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Murder
shaipanda's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
This was a very hit or miss book for me. While I really enjoyed the queer side characters, disability rep, and general concept of this book, I didn’t find the execution to be as great as I would’ve liked.
To start with, this book was just generally too long, too hard to get into, and kinda a slog to finish for me. While I wanted to know what happened I was continuously surprised by how many more pages there were and didn’t have as much interest as I would’ve wanted in finishing it meaning that it took longer to finish than I would’ve liked despite me enjoying the book and wanting to know what happened.
Additionally, while interesting, I didn’t love the way the romance(a) were handled.
I did love the character development and seeing the 4 musketeers together I found that to be really enjoyable.
However, in addition to my other issues with the pacing, length, and love interest(s), I also found the French used to not necessarily detract for me but also didn’t add anything, I found the spy plot line to be incredibly confusing at times, and I think the word dizzy started to become incredibly repetitive.
Overall while I enjoyed the story, this was a fairly middling book for me unfortunately.
To start with, this book was just generally too long, too hard to get into, and kinda a slog to finish for me. While I wanted to know what happened I was continuously surprised by how many more pages there were and didn’t have as much interest as I would’ve wanted in finishing it meaning that it took longer to finish than I would’ve liked despite me enjoying the book and wanting to know what happened.
Additionally, while interesting, I didn’t love the way the romance(a) were handled.
I did love the character development and seeing the 4 musketeers together I found that to be really enjoyable.
However, in addition to my other issues with the pacing, length, and love interest(s), I also found the French used to not necessarily detract for me but also didn’t add anything, I found the spy plot line to be incredibly confusing at times, and I think the word dizzy started to become incredibly repetitive.
Overall while I enjoyed the story, this was a fairly middling book for me unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Ableism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Bullying, and Blood
midgereads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
It was slow at times and most of the clues the girls found on the second half of the story confused me, but overall it was pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault