A review by berlinbibliophile
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

4.0

This book is inspired by Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Alexa Donne does a really good job in staying true to the theme and character beats of the story without just retelling it plotpoint for plotpoint. The setting of a slowly dying fleet orbiting Earth is great, and the plot works really well in that setting. Stella, the Jane Eyre character, works great as a protagonist. Her perspective strongly tinges the narration and makes it more personal, and she keeps all the great bits of Jane Eyre's character, like her steadfastness and dedication to her young charges. This is, in my opinion, how retellings of the classics should work: by staying true to the characters and seeing what transferring them into a new setting can reveal about the themes and social issues present in the original and the retelling.