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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
My friend assured me this was the best book they had ever read. I am so sorry to disappoint them.
This was a fun listen/read. Recommend for readers who enjoy high action, intrigue, and strong female characters.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
I was gifted One For All by a friend. Normally I don’t do Historical Fiction without some fantasy element however I love to read disability representation. And oh did Lainoff deliver.
Filled with so much heart, accuracy to the disabled experience, passion, and suspense, One For All kept both wanting to read more and not wanting to keep going because I didn’t want it to end. This took me a few months because life got in the way of my reading but did in no way take any amount from my enjoyment of the book. Tania’s story – helping France as a female musketeer, learning about herself and pushing herself for what she wants – was incredibly well done. The disability experience is represented well; as something that can be impactful to the individual; the ableism that the world can instill, the self loathing, the worthlessness. But with these, it shows how having the right people around, the right accommodations, and support can really help someone thrive. Even if their physical disability symptoms don’t change, having love and support, as well as the disabled person being the one to define themselves, can cause a disabled person to thrive. Tania got to grow as character about and with her disability but that was not the only way she had to grow and learn. Tania’s arc was not just about her disability and I loved that; it was one of a few of the growth storylines she had. As a disabled reader I felt so heard and seen and represented, even though I do not have POTS. This is definitely the kind of book I needed as a teen and my inner disabled child is incredibly happy.
Aside from the representation, the plot was well constructed and I felt it built in a natural, exciting way that kept me wanting more and more. Even without figuring out the twist near the end, I saw how it all came together and fell for some of it too.
Lainoff’s writing is full of life and atmosphere. All the characters were fully realized and felt so real, like they could have actually existed in history. It wasn’t just Tania, our main character, who went through an arc of growth, but the main cast as well. I found the intermingled french difficult as someone who is not fluent but most times the meaning could be derived from context or was told immediately afterwards. Despite the confusion it also helped with immersing the world and making it feel grounded and real.
Definitely a 5 star read for me!
I started this thinking I really wasn't in the mood for YA but the book grew on me. It's a genderbent (very very loose) retelling of the Three Musketeers with queer side character rep and own voices disability rep (Tania has POTS). Sometimes the attempts at flowery prose are a bit awkward but generally it suits the setting. The mystery has some twists (a bit predictable but that's ok). The main strengths of the book are found family and the character building around each of the musketeers.
Kinda underestimated how emotional it would make me to read about a heroine with POTS, but here I am.
3.5 stars
This was not so much a retelling of the Three Musketeers as it was a spin-off of the stories. It focuses on a small group of women who have been trained to protect the king, but in a way that men can not. There was much I liked about this book, but there were also some things I wasn't thrilled about.
I really liked the representation in this story. Tania de Batz is the daughter of a retired Musketeer and unlike most young ladies of her time, she would prefer to run around, climb trees, and fight with swords. She also, unfortunately, suffers from POTS, although it is never named as such since I believe it was officially diagnosed in the 1990s! Her mother is ashamed of her "weakness" and constantly tells her to keep it hidden from others, including potential suitors. This is the first time I've seen this disability in literature (and I've had at least 3 students who suffer from it), so I appreciated reading about it.
I found the overall plot to be quite interesting and I liked that she was searching for her father's killer while trying to make sure she was doing everything she could to protect the king. I also loved how the book builds towards the eventual sisterhood of the female musketeers and that it was not an automatic thing. Trust needs to be built and I thought the author did a good job of building that trust among the ladies, through both positive interactions and mistakes made. With regards to the sisterhood, I liked that they highlighted holding each other up when they were weak and not letting them fall. This allowed Tania to shine where she could (with sword fighting) but know that her sisters would have her back if her body failed her.
I really enjoyed reading the sword-fighting scenes, but I wasn't as thrilled when she (or the other girls) was expected to manipulate a man using her "feminine wiles". I mean, I get that, especially during that time, women could do things like that that most men couldn't but I'm not always thrilled by this kind of deception where women can be "strong" by deceiving men.
The other thing is that as much as I enjoyed the search for her father's killer, I was able to figure it out about halfway through the book. I mean, I was happy to know I was right, but it made the story a bit more predictable.
I did like Henri and his artistic talent and I liked that even as Tania worked to find her place in the home, so did Henri. As an aside, I also liked the romance that showed up near the end (no spoilers). It actually made me laugh because of the reaction of the others. But it was fun.
Overall, this was a fun take on the Musketeer story, and I found it to be an enjoyable read.
This was not so much a retelling of the Three Musketeers as it was a spin-off of the stories. It focuses on a small group of women who have been trained to protect the king, but in a way that men can not. There was much I liked about this book, but there were also some things I wasn't thrilled about.
I really liked the representation in this story. Tania de Batz is the daughter of a retired Musketeer and unlike most young ladies of her time, she would prefer to run around, climb trees, and fight with swords. She also, unfortunately, suffers from POTS, although it is never named as such since I believe it was officially diagnosed in the 1990s! Her mother is ashamed of her "weakness" and constantly tells her to keep it hidden from others, including potential suitors. This is the first time I've seen this disability in literature (and I've had at least 3 students who suffer from it), so I appreciated reading about it.
I found the overall plot to be quite interesting and I liked that she was searching for her father's killer while trying to make sure she was doing everything she could to protect the king. I also loved how the book builds towards the eventual sisterhood of the female musketeers and that it was not an automatic thing. Trust needs to be built and I thought the author did a good job of building that trust among the ladies, through both positive interactions and mistakes made. With regards to the sisterhood, I liked that they highlighted holding each other up when they were weak and not letting them fall. This allowed Tania to shine where she could (with sword fighting) but know that her sisters would have her back if her body failed her.
I really enjoyed reading the sword-fighting scenes, but I wasn't as thrilled when she (or the other girls) was expected to manipulate a man using her "feminine wiles". I mean, I get that, especially during that time, women could do things like that that most men couldn't but I'm not always thrilled by this kind of deception where women can be "strong" by deceiving men.
The other thing is that as much as I enjoyed the search for her father's killer, I was able to figure it out about halfway through the book. I mean, I was happy to know I was right, but it made the story a bit more predictable.
I did like Henri and his artistic talent and I liked that even as Tania worked to find her place in the home, so did Henri. As an aside, I also liked the romance that showed up near the end (no spoilers). It actually made me laugh because of the reaction of the others. But it was fun.
Overall, this was a fun take on the Musketeer story, and I found it to be an enjoyable read.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated