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A review by pages_with_panda
A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really wanted to like this book - I LOVE heists! AND it's sapphic! And it's on the TITANIC? I was so curious to see how this would play out, even if it was tragic.
However the story felt very, very short. It was fast paced, but not for the action. I mean, one second we're in Ireland, the next the ship is sinking.
I would've loved to see the "crew" work at least one mini heist before this big one. Because we're basically told the girls have these "roles" and they're the best, but honestly there was no one else? They all lived together. There was literally no competition to be on this heist. Not only that, but Emilie and Hinnah seem to be the only ones with talents. When the tagline called Violet an actor, I thought she might have some actually acting skills, not just be a semi-decent liar? And I would've liked to see some of Josefa's plan because beyond stealing a ticket, I can't believe she spent months working on it.
I also think that there wasn't much thought to how a Black or brown women would've been perceived on a ship like this in the 1900s? The author's note tells us there was one other Black family on the (real) ship so it was possible, but I think Emilie would've acknowledge it at least more than once? I'd hate to say that their backgrounds were simply written at random and a diverse cast was added in without thought.
The "sapphic" relationship also seemed very rushed, but honestly everything else in the book was too so I don't think it matters at this point.
The premise was so interesting but maybe 4 POVs was too much for the author. There were hints to more detailed backgrounds (Hinnah's trapeze act partner?) but nothing that actually gave us anything to care about. To the point where I literally did not care about the ending and kind of rushed through it. I especially felt like it got more ridiculous and I had to suspend my belief towards the end. There were zero tears shed, unfortunately.
The girls seemed to be able to get away with ridiculous stunts as well that made it very unbelievable for a story set during a very real setting. I got lost in some action scenes because I could not follow what was going on.
Might be a fun read for some younger readers though. And unrelated, but the cover is GORGEOUS and I love it so much.
However the story felt very, very short. It was fast paced, but not for the action. I mean, one second we're in Ireland, the next the ship is sinking.
I would've loved to see the "crew" work at least one mini heist before this big one. Because we're basically told the girls have these "roles" and they're the best, but honestly there was no one else? They all lived together. There was literally no competition to be on this heist. Not only that, but Emilie and Hinnah seem to be the only ones with talents. When the tagline called Violet an actor, I thought she might have some actually acting skills, not just be a semi-decent liar? And I would've liked to see some of Josefa's plan because beyond stealing a ticket, I can't believe she spent months working on it.
I also think that there wasn't much thought to how a Black or brown women would've been perceived on a ship like this in the 1900s? The author's note tells us there was one other Black family on the (real) ship so it was possible, but I think Emilie would've acknowledge it at least more than once? I'd hate to say that their backgrounds were simply written at random and a diverse cast was added in without thought.
The "sapphic" relationship also seemed very rushed, but honestly everything else in the book was too so I don't think it matters at this point.
The premise was so interesting but maybe 4 POVs was too much for the author. There were hints to more detailed backgrounds (Hinnah's trapeze act partner?) but nothing that actually gave us anything to care about. To the point where I literally did not care about the ending and kind of rushed through it. I especially felt like it got more ridiculous and I had to suspend my belief towards the end. There were zero tears shed, unfortunately.
The girls seemed to be able to get away with ridiculous stunts as well that made it very unbelievable for a story set during a very real setting. I got lost in some action scenes because I could not follow what was going on.
Might be a fun read for some younger readers though. And unrelated, but the cover is GORGEOUS and I love it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment