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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
What a wonderful tale and first novel! A tale of endurance, enduring love and how logic and magic must coexist.
Sweet story. The ending dragged a bit, but overall a good audiobook listen!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
3.5 stars. While I loved most of the characters, I didn’t love the flow of the story. Some parts felt slow while other events happened way too fast; some character perspectives felt rushed and out of place. That being said, I did enjoy the story overall.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A touching story about a girl who overcomes physical, emotional, and social challenges during a chaotic and dangerous time in history.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Group in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks go to them and the author.
Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, perhaps romance
Trigger warnings: I didn't feel like this one needs warnings because the worst tragedies of WWII are not front and center on the page.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
The characters are interesting and fully-fleshed out. No one is squeaky clean except for Lena who has led a sheltered life from living in a wheelchair and being isolated. Lena was born premature and contracted polio as an infant—her situation was handled with great care and sensitivity by the author for historical context and to honor modern readers' feelings about disability. Alexandre is Lena's love interest when she's a child, so this historical novel could also be seen as a romance. Alexandre is a great foil for Lena because of his upbringing on the streets with an abusive father. My heart was drawn to both of these characters.
Each choice made by the characters lead to another twist that can't be foreseen. But the twists are foreshadowed. The one issue I had with the book the short chapter when the character is only addressed as "he" to keep us tenterhooks. I felt like that was a bit too "tricky" as a story device. Each chapter drew me to the next one, wanting to know more. I wanted things to turn out for Lena. Her strength was admirable and is a good role model for everyone to reach for their dreams even in the face of rejection.
After reading this book, I wanted to know more about circuses during WWII. I was so grateful there was back matter about this. That's a sign of a good historical fiction novel—that you want to know more. The LGBTQ community is represented through background characters, but it's not a major thread through the story.
Get ready because, I think this book will win awards for 2022.
Anyone with an interest in WWII, social issues, representation of marginalized communities, and romance will enjoy this book.
I highly recommend it!
Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, perhaps romance
Trigger warnings: I didn't feel like this one needs warnings because the worst tragedies of WWII are not front and center on the page.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
The characters are interesting and fully-fleshed out. No one is squeaky clean except for Lena who has led a sheltered life from living in a wheelchair and being isolated. Lena was born premature and contracted polio as an infant—her situation was handled with great care and sensitivity by the author for historical context and to honor modern readers' feelings about disability. Alexandre is Lena's love interest when she's a child, so this historical novel could also be seen as a romance. Alexandre is a great foil for Lena because of his upbringing on the streets with an abusive father. My heart was drawn to both of these characters.
Each choice made by the characters lead to another twist that can't be foreseen. But the twists are foreshadowed. The one issue I had with the book the short chapter when the character is only addressed as "he" to keep us tenterhooks. I felt like that was a bit too "tricky" as a story device. Each chapter drew me to the next one, wanting to know more. I wanted things to turn out for Lena. Her strength was admirable and is a good role model for everyone to reach for their dreams even in the face of rejection.
After reading this book, I wanted to know more about circuses during WWII. I was so grateful there was back matter about this. That's a sign of a good historical fiction novel—that you want to know more. The LGBTQ community is represented through background characters, but it's not a major thread through the story.
Get ready because, I think this book will win awards for 2022.
Anyone with an interest in WWII, social issues, representation of marginalized communities, and romance will enjoy this book.
I highly recommend it!
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Group in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks go to them and the author.
Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, perhaps romance
Trigger warnings: I didn't feel like this one needs warnings because the worst tragedies of WWII are not front and center on the page.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
The characters are interesting and fully-fleshed out. No one is squeaky clean except for Lena who has led a sheltered life from living in a wheelchair and being isolated. Lena was born premature and contracted polio as an infant—her situation was handled with great care and sensitivity by the author for historical context and to honor modern readers' feelings about disability. Alexandre is Lena's love interest when she's a child, so this historical novel could also be seen as a romance. Alexandre is a great foil for Lena because of his upbringing on the streets with an abusive father. My heart was drawn to both of these characters.
Each choice made by the characters lead to another twist that can't be foreseen. But the twists are foreshadowed. The one issue I had with the book the short chapter when the character is only addressed as "he" to keep us tenterhooks. I felt like that was a bit too "tricky" as a story device. Each chapter drew me to the next one, wanting to know more. I wanted things to turn out for Lena. Her strength was admirable and is a good role model for everyone to reach for their dreams even in the face of rejection.
After reading this book, I wanted to know more about circuses during WWII. I was so grateful there was back matter about this. That's a sign of a good historical fiction novel—that you want to know more. The LGBTQ community is represented through background characters, but it's not a major thread through the story.
Get ready because, I think this book will win awards for 2022.
Anyone with an interest in WWII, social issues, representation of marginalized communities, and romance will enjoy this book.
I highly recommend it!
Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, perhaps romance
Trigger warnings: I didn't feel like this one needs warnings because the worst tragedies of WWII are not front and center on the page.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
The characters are interesting and fully-fleshed out. No one is squeaky clean except for Lena who has led a sheltered life from living in a wheelchair and being isolated. Lena was born premature and contracted polio as an infant—her situation was handled with great care and sensitivity by the author for historical context and to honor modern readers' feelings about disability. Alexandre is Lena's love interest when she's a child, so this historical novel could also be seen as a romance. Alexandre is a great foil for Lena because of his upbringing on the streets with an abusive father. My heart was drawn to both of these characters.
Each choice made by the characters lead to another twist that can't be foreseen. But the twists are foreshadowed. The one issue I had with the book the short chapter when the character is only addressed as "he" to keep us tenterhooks. I felt like that was a bit too "tricky" as a story device. Each chapter drew me to the next one, wanting to know more. I wanted things to turn out for Lena. Her strength was admirable and is a good role model for everyone to reach for their dreams even in the face of rejection.
After reading this book, I wanted to know more about circuses during WWII. I was so grateful there was back matter about this. That's a sign of a good historical fiction novel—that you want to know more. The LGBTQ community is represented through background characters, but it's not a major thread through the story.
Get ready because, I think this book will win awards for 2022.
Anyone with an interest in WWII, social issues, representation of marginalized communities, and romance will enjoy this book.
I highly recommend it!