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A review by truequeenofchaos
The Valiant by Lesley Livingston
3.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
The gladiatorial parts of Rome is something that has always deeply fascinated me. There is very little to no historical fiction about it (especially in YA), which is just crazy because it's such an interesting topic. So this story was pretty original seeing as I've never read a book with this setting before. It was about female gladiators, so heck yeah for tough female characters. Sadly the first 1/3 of the book was kind of aggravating. Those parts seemed to be written like they were a debut novel, and the author was trying to find her sense of style. But it eventually picked up and the last 1/3 of the novel was very enjoyable. If the beginning would have been better, I would have given it 4 stars.
The main character, Fallon, definitely wasn't my favorite. Yeah she worked hard at becoming a gladiatrux (female gladiator), but I was getting the "special snowflake" vibe from her. All of the characters were very flat and pretty one-dimensional. That's the main reason this book didn't get a higher rating. The plot, however, was pretty exceptional, and everything seemed to be very well researched by the author. The Valiant had an overall message of sisterhood and working hard to achieve your dreams.
"We were castoffs and slaves, orphans and unwanteds and used-to-be princesses.
But we were a sisterhood.
And we were mighty."
GRADING SCALE
Characters - 10/20
Plot line - 13/16
Originality - 15/16
Writing Style - 11/16
Pace - 10/16
Ending - 16/16
75/100
3.5/5 stars
I'd recommend this novel to fans of YA historical fiction and anyone who's interested in the world of the gladiators.
The gladiatorial parts of Rome is something that has always deeply fascinated me. There is very little to no historical fiction about it (especially in YA), which is just crazy because it's such an interesting topic. So this story was pretty original seeing as I've never read a book with this setting before. It was about female gladiators, so heck yeah for tough female characters. Sadly the first 1/3 of the book was kind of aggravating. Those parts seemed to be written like they were a debut novel, and the author was trying to find her sense of style. But it eventually picked up and the last 1/3 of the novel was very enjoyable. If the beginning would have been better, I would have given it 4 stars.
The main character, Fallon, definitely wasn't my favorite. Yeah she worked hard at becoming a gladiatrux (female gladiator), but I was getting the "special snowflake" vibe from her. All of the characters were very flat and pretty one-dimensional. That's the main reason this book didn't get a higher rating. The plot, however, was pretty exceptional, and everything seemed to be very well researched by the author. The Valiant had an overall message of sisterhood and working hard to achieve your dreams.
"We were castoffs and slaves, orphans and unwanteds and used-to-be princesses.
But we were a sisterhood.
And we were mighty."
GRADING SCALE
Characters - 10/20
Plot line - 13/16
Originality - 15/16
Writing Style - 11/16
Pace - 10/16
Ending - 16/16
75/100
3.5/5 stars
I'd recommend this novel to fans of YA historical fiction and anyone who's interested in the world of the gladiators.