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A review by tostita
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I loved the first half of this book, which made the ending all the more disappointing.
What’s good: the voice, the wit, the scenario, the narration
What’s bad: Floralinda does not become empowered to be her real self; rather, she is broken and hardened by events into someone who is no more, and perhaps far less, her “real” self than the spoiled princess she started as. In the end she has become someone who turns to violence first, regardless of need, who now willingly upholds the same violent institution that imprisoned her in the first place. I also am not at all comfortable with the implication that one cannot be a girl and also be strong, or damaged, or anything less than softly pretty and meek, and that being tough and deviating from mainstream beauty standards makes one a “monster.” And then there is the uncomfortable incident where Floralinda forces agender Cobweb to choose whether to be a boy or a girl. I assumed the book would circle back around to that by the end and correct things, but it never did.
This book started off so well. I wish it hadn’t let me down in the end.
What’s good: the voice, the wit, the scenario, the narration
What’s bad: Floralinda does not become empowered to be her real self; rather, she is broken and hardened by events into someone who is no more, and perhaps far less, her “real” self than the spoiled princess she started as. In the end she has become someone who turns to violence first, regardless of need, who now willingly upholds the same violent institution that imprisoned her in the first place. I also am not at all comfortable with the implication that one cannot be a girl and also be strong, or damaged, or anything less than softly pretty and meek, and that being tough and deviating from mainstream beauty standards makes one a “monster.” And then there is the uncomfortable incident where Floralinda forces agender Cobweb to choose whether to be a boy or a girl. I assumed the book would circle back around to that by the end and correct things, but it never did.
This book started off so well. I wish it hadn’t let me down in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide