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dananana's review against another edition
0.5
5/25/2020: Changing my original rating from 2 to .5 stars because I randomly thought of this awful book 2 years after reading it and realized: some parts of the story that hadn't bugged me originally are actually... terrible? So I'm editing my original review somewhat. I will get into it in a second, but first I want to warn that this entire review will be filled with spoilers, including the biggest twist in the book. However, I feel like this twist itself is problematic, so I'm not going to click the spoilers tag and will just warn you at the beginning!
So... where to start with this disappointing book. She Rises is a slow book, told from two perspectives. Louise, or Lou, is a lady's maid to a wealthy captain's daughter, Rebecca. Rebecca is spoiled and haughty and kind of terrible, but over time... they become closer and fall in love. The other POV is Luke, who was press ganged into service of Her Majesty's Navy and sent to sea. He is desperate to survive and get back to London... and seems to have a secret.
Okay, so I will say right off the bat that Luke's secret (and the big plot twist of the book) is that he is actually "Lou." He's a trans boy and he's wanting to get back to London to find Rebecca and tell her he didn't mean to leave and that he wants them to be together, etc. I've seen other reviews that have praised this clever plot twist, but I suspected it from the beginning, because I knew there was a trans character in the book, and honestly it's kind of obvious after a point. Like, you're supposed to think Luke is "Lou's" brother, but it becomes clear pretty quickly this isn't the case. I didn't mind this plot twist at the time I first read it; in fact, I wrote in my original review that "I felt like the execution of the idea was stellar!" and that I "LOVED the stuff about Luke figuring out gender identity stuff and the drag-like feel to the early scenes vs how it develops into something more as the story goes on."
Well, regardless of if I enjoyed it at the time... today when I thought of this book out of the blue, I'm kinda of the mind that it's a little (a lot) gross to make someone's trans identity the plot twist? I read this over two years ago at this point, so it's hard for me to say how I'd feel about it now and even more difficult to talk about it. But being trans shouldn't be something that's shocking or fodder for drama... it others the trans identity. I was browsing through other people's reviews of this book and no one seems to have this opinion, but also there are so many people saying this is great for 'lesbian book clubs' and for 'fans of Sarah Waters' so clearly they're ignoring Luke being trans and are only here for the "wlw" content.
Also, I said in my original review that I loved the cover and it IS very beautiful but something about how Luke is drawn feels a little... idk. weird. I don't know how to articulate this or if I'm reading into too much, but I thought I'd throw this out there. Also who is the 'she' in 'She Rises' - is it the boat????? I'm hoping it's just the boat because if the author was trying to also refer to Luke and how he's afab, that'd be so gross. :/
So there's that. But... there's also so much more.
cw for rape and racism
So. Luke is sexually harassed and eventually raped by someone on the ship. Rape/sexual assault is such a difficult subject to approach in fiction, but I HAVE read books where it was given respect and sensitivity. This book... well, I guess I'll just say that there was something about it that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, and has only bothered me more as time has gone on.
It was hard at first for me to put my finger on WHY it made me so uncomfortable to read. But I'm realizing it was the way it was written - it felt simultaneously violent and almost... voyeuristic? Especially when I compare it to books that handle this topic more sensitively. It didn't feel necessary, like the author just put it in for the sake of the violence. Once it happens to Luke, it's not really discussed again and we don't see how it's impacted him or how he's recovering from this trauma.
If that was my only issue... well, I still would have been upset. But ugh, it does get worse, because - the racism! First, She Rises had little to no characters of color for the first half of the story, as if people of color didn’t exist in 1740 Britain. But THEN, Luke lands in a French colony off the coast of Africa (I think? The discussion of locations was a bit confusing to me). And the author proceeds to 1. describe basically every Black character that Luke sees with the n word and 2. give no characters of color a role in the story beyond their subjugation or their relation to white people.
I have a lot of thoughts on this, but to directly address the slur issue... There are so many historical fiction books that use racial slurs for the sake of 'historical accuracy' but to me, it feels increasingly gross and cruel for authors who cannot reclaim the slur to use this type of violence in their writing. For some reason this is a really divisive issue, and the purpose of this review isn't to discuss this topic in detail... but the thing is, even if you disagree with that statement, I'd hope you would be able to see that the way She Rises uses racist language and the subjugation of Black bodies simply to "set the scene" was disgusting.
Ultimately, the reason I hated the way Luke's rape and the racism are the same. Kate Worsley's writing of these horrific events have no compassion for their victims. And it feels like they're only placed within the story because it's 'historically accurate,' rather than to tell a humanistic story. Both the rape and the racism could be completely removed from the book with little affect to the overall story - meaning, perhaps, that the author cares little for how these horrible events affect the main character or the wider world around him. In the end, this book simply felt like a series of events rather than a story. As if the author thought it might be cool to write about, rather than doing research on how her book could be doing a violence to the communities she's depicting.
And you know what? If Kate Worsley is SO concerned about having historical accuracy, why does she never address the fact that Luke should have a period, and that hiding it would have added a lot more stress to his already stressful situation? Oh wait, I know. It was so we could have the amazing 'Luke is trans!!!!' plot twist!!! -_- Do you see what I mean about this author really not caring about actual representation and accuracy? It really feels like she's only wanting to write a Historical Book With a Cool Twist, regardless of if it's actually historical. Or actually a cool twist. ew.
And for my final complaint: I felt utterly confused by the ending. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE open-ended endings. But this legitimately felt like it stopped mid-chapter. I have no idea what Luke was doing and the way he narrated the story was so weird... He kept saying stuff like, “Later, I would be sorry I didn’t talk to Rebecca about this” or whatever, and then we never got to see ‘later’???? Also, I had a million questions about what would happen to these characters after the book ended and no clue of even the vague direction their lives would lead. I did not understand the point of leaving SO many questions unanswered in such an unsatisfying way.
Okay, well, glad I got all this out of my system and let me just end this review by emphatically stating that you should never pick up this book (:
So... where to start with this disappointing book. She Rises is a slow book, told from two perspectives. Louise, or Lou, is a lady's maid to a wealthy captain's daughter, Rebecca. Rebecca is spoiled and haughty and kind of terrible, but over time... they become closer and fall in love. The other POV is Luke, who was press ganged into service of Her Majesty's Navy and sent to sea. He is desperate to survive and get back to London... and seems to have a secret.
Okay, so I will say right off the bat that Luke's secret (and the big plot twist of the book) is that he is actually "Lou." He's a trans boy and he's wanting to get back to London to find Rebecca and tell her he didn't mean to leave and that he wants them to be together, etc. I've seen other reviews that have praised this clever plot twist, but I suspected it from the beginning, because I knew there was a trans character in the book, and honestly it's kind of obvious after a point. Like, you're supposed to think Luke is "Lou's" brother, but it becomes clear pretty quickly this isn't the case. I didn't mind this plot twist at the time I first read it; in fact, I wrote in my original review that "I felt like the execution of the idea was stellar!" and that I "LOVED the stuff about Luke figuring out gender identity stuff and the drag-like feel to the early scenes vs how it develops into something more as the story goes on."
Well, regardless of if I enjoyed it at the time... today when I thought of this book out of the blue, I'm kinda of the mind that it's a little (a lot) gross to make someone's trans identity the plot twist? I read this over two years ago at this point, so it's hard for me to say how I'd feel about it now and even more difficult to talk about it. But being trans shouldn't be something that's shocking or fodder for drama... it others the trans identity. I was browsing through other people's reviews of this book and no one seems to have this opinion, but also there are so many people saying this is great for 'lesbian book clubs' and for 'fans of Sarah Waters' so clearly they're ignoring Luke being trans and are only here for the "wlw" content.
Also, I said in my original review that I loved the cover and it IS very beautiful but something about how Luke is drawn feels a little... idk. weird. I don't know how to articulate this or if I'm reading into too much, but I thought I'd throw this out there. Also who is the 'she' in 'She Rises' - is it the boat????? I'm hoping it's just the boat because if the author was trying to also refer to Luke and how he's afab, that'd be so gross. :/
So there's that. But... there's also so much more.
cw for rape and racism
So. Luke is sexually harassed and eventually raped by someone on the ship. Rape/sexual assault is such a difficult subject to approach in fiction, but I HAVE read books where it was given respect and sensitivity. This book... well, I guess I'll just say that there was something about it that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, and has only bothered me more as time has gone on.
It was hard at first for me to put my finger on WHY it made me so uncomfortable to read. But I'm realizing it was the way it was written - it felt simultaneously violent and almost... voyeuristic? Especially when I compare it to books that handle this topic more sensitively. It didn't feel necessary, like the author just put it in for the sake of the violence. Once it happens to Luke, it's not really discussed again and we don't see how it's impacted him or how he's recovering from this trauma.
If that was my only issue... well, I still would have been upset. But ugh, it does get worse, because - the racism! First, She Rises had little to no characters of color for the first half of the story, as if people of color didn’t exist in 1740 Britain. But THEN, Luke lands in a French colony off the coast of Africa (I think? The discussion of locations was a bit confusing to me). And the author proceeds to 1. describe basically every Black character that Luke sees with the n word and 2. give no characters of color a role in the story beyond their subjugation or their relation to white people.
I have a lot of thoughts on this, but to directly address the slur issue... There are so many historical fiction books that use racial slurs for the sake of 'historical accuracy' but to me, it feels increasingly gross and cruel for authors who cannot reclaim the slur to use this type of violence in their writing. For some reason this is a really divisive issue, and the purpose of this review isn't to discuss this topic in detail... but the thing is, even if you disagree with that statement, I'd hope you would be able to see that the way She Rises uses racist language and the subjugation of Black bodies simply to "set the scene" was disgusting.
Ultimately, the reason I hated the way Luke's rape and the racism are the same. Kate Worsley's writing of these horrific events have no compassion for their victims. And it feels like they're only placed within the story because it's 'historically accurate,' rather than to tell a humanistic story. Both the rape and the racism could be completely removed from the book with little affect to the overall story - meaning, perhaps, that the author cares little for how these horrible events affect the main character or the wider world around him. In the end, this book simply felt like a series of events rather than a story. As if the author thought it might be cool to write about, rather than doing research on how her book could be doing a violence to the communities she's depicting.
And you know what? If Kate Worsley is SO concerned about having historical accuracy, why does she never address the fact that Luke should have a period, and that hiding it would have added a lot more stress to his already stressful situation? Oh wait, I know. It was so we could have the amazing 'Luke is trans!!!!' plot twist!!! -_- Do you see what I mean about this author really not caring about actual representation and accuracy? It really feels like she's only wanting to write a Historical Book With a Cool Twist, regardless of if it's actually historical. Or actually a cool twist. ew.
And for my final complaint: I felt utterly confused by the ending. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE open-ended endings. But this legitimately felt like it stopped mid-chapter. I have no idea what Luke was doing and the way he narrated the story was so weird... He kept saying stuff like, “Later, I would be sorry I didn’t talk to Rebecca about this” or whatever, and then we never got to see ‘later’???? Also, I had a million questions about what would happen to these characters after the book ended and no clue of even the vague direction their lives would lead. I did not understand the point of leaving SO many questions unanswered in such an unsatisfying way.
Okay, well, glad I got all this out of my system and let me just end this review by emphatically stating that you should never pick up this book (:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual harassment
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