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A review by rereader33
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
4.0
Okay, here's the deal:
I have a FUCK TON of thoughts regarding this novel, and I have no FUCKING clue how I'm going to arrange them in a semi-coherent review. So, what we're gonna do is I'm going to list what I liked and didn't like and leave it at that. Okay? Okay, let's go.
What I liked:
1. Frankie, Choppy, Marguerite, and Loretta were easily the best characters in this novel. I loved hearing about their stories and I loved their interactions with other characters.
2. The setting was historically accurate and worked well with the story. Clearly Ruby did her research.
3. There were a lot of great ideas like women fighting back, dealing with an unfair life/society, and learning to give it your all to get what you want.
4. The supernatural aspects were pretty cool.
What I didn't like:
1. Pearl annoyed me and I wished I could have gotten her's AND Frankie's individual perspectives. Bare in mind, I don't think Pearl was a poorly written character, I just personally didn't like her.
2. While this novel had a lot of great ideas, I didn't feel like there was one central idea that anyone could point to and say, "yeah, that's what this novel's about," like you can with other novels. It felt Ruby had a lot of great ideas, couldn't part with any of them, so she shoved them all in and they competed for attention throughout the story.
3. Pearl's final reveal in regards to her backstory was underwhelming. Not that it didn't make narrative sense, but I had slowly stopped caring about her story since it seemed to drag on for most of the novel and then the final reveal just happens.
4. The ending was unsatisfactory and I wish there had been an epilogue.
All that being said, I highly recommend this novel. This was such an incredible, often times difficult, novel to read but it was so worth it. If you're intrigued by the summary, give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.
I have a FUCK TON of thoughts regarding this novel, and I have no FUCKING clue how I'm going to arrange them in a semi-coherent review. So, what we're gonna do is I'm going to list what I liked and didn't like and leave it at that. Okay? Okay, let's go.
What I liked:
1. Frankie, Choppy, Marguerite, and Loretta were easily the best characters in this novel. I loved hearing about their stories and I loved their interactions with other characters.
2. The setting was historically accurate and worked well with the story. Clearly Ruby did her research.
3. There were a lot of great ideas like women fighting back, dealing with an unfair life/society, and learning to give it your all to get what you want.
4. The supernatural aspects were pretty cool.
What I didn't like:
1. Pearl annoyed me and I wished I could have gotten her's AND Frankie's individual perspectives. Bare in mind, I don't think Pearl was a poorly written character, I just personally didn't like her.
2. While this novel had a lot of great ideas, I didn't feel like there was one central idea that anyone could point to and say, "yeah, that's what this novel's about," like you can with other novels. It felt Ruby had a lot of great ideas, couldn't part with any of them, so she shoved them all in and they competed for attention throughout the story.
3. Pearl's final reveal in regards to her backstory was underwhelming. Not that it didn't make narrative sense, but I had slowly stopped caring about her story since it seemed to drag on for most of the novel and then the final reveal just happens.
4. The ending was unsatisfactory and I wish there had been an epilogue.
All that being said, I highly recommend this novel. This was such an incredible, often times difficult, novel to read but it was so worth it. If you're intrigued by the summary, give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.