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A review by keegan_rellim_taylor
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
4.0
This historical fantasy story is so haunting! The pacing is very measured, the language is beautiful, but the imagery and the themes elevate this book to a superior level, and leave me pretty sure it's going to stick with me for the long term.
This book isn't necessarily written *for* kids, but I appreciate that it would be accessible to my middle graders. It is a coming of age story -- maybe one of the most deeply enchanting I have read in a very long time.
Nannerl (Maria Anna Mozart) has a passion for music, but as she grows she finds herself in the shadow of her brother, five years younger than her. She knows that her path as a woman means she is destined for marriage and children in the end, no matter how many nobles and royals she plays before. Her wish not to be forgotten, expressed deep in her heart, summons a guardian who flits into hers and Wolferl's life through the coming years, sometimes in their world and sometimes in his.
There are so many elements of this book that make it fascinating. First is the fact that you know that in the end Maria Anna is mostly forgotten. There is the inevitability of a tragedy marked on the story from the start. Second is the fact that it's not your run-of-the-mill fantasy story. Lu creates a story that is so concrete and also so ethereal and dreamlike. More than any other fantasy story I've ever read, this is a hero's journey that is private and internal in a very unique way.
In an era of famous sisters -- such as Enola Holmes -- this is a story that bears investigation. While it's not light and playful in the way that Enola Holmes is, it does speak to the history of women's oppression. Because Lu is dealing with real people in history, she is confined to their actual life details in one sense. However, their internal lives are really open for a magic that she brings to life with an elegance and grace and imagination that is captivating.
This book isn't necessarily written *for* kids, but I appreciate that it would be accessible to my middle graders. It is a coming of age story -- maybe one of the most deeply enchanting I have read in a very long time.
Nannerl (Maria Anna Mozart) has a passion for music, but as she grows she finds herself in the shadow of her brother, five years younger than her. She knows that her path as a woman means she is destined for marriage and children in the end, no matter how many nobles and royals she plays before. Her wish not to be forgotten, expressed deep in her heart, summons a guardian who flits into hers and Wolferl's life through the coming years, sometimes in their world and sometimes in his.
There are so many elements of this book that make it fascinating. First is the fact that you know that in the end Maria Anna is mostly forgotten. There is the inevitability of a tragedy marked on the story from the start. Second is the fact that it's not your run-of-the-mill fantasy story. Lu creates a story that is so concrete and also so ethereal and dreamlike. More than any other fantasy story I've ever read, this is a hero's journey that is private and internal in a very unique way.
In an era of famous sisters -- such as Enola Holmes -- this is a story that bears investigation. While it's not light and playful in the way that Enola Holmes is, it does speak to the history of women's oppression. Because Lu is dealing with real people in history, she is confined to their actual life details in one sense. However, their internal lives are really open for a magic that she brings to life with an elegance and grace and imagination that is captivating.