Scan barcode
A review by althea
Mary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
I’d heard some really great things about his book before I picked it up, and the synopsis alone sounds absolutely fantastic, but nothing could have prepared me for what a fun, whirlwind of a ride this book was! Mary, Everything opens in 2004, and follows Courtney who is spending her Summer working in her university’s dusty archives. While out on her lunchbreak one day, she bumps into Sadie – who feels slightly out of place and is dressed in a seriously cool vintage outfit – and the two become quick friends. As Courtney’s work continues, she finds an old yearbook, dating from the 1920s, and she can’t help but think some of those faces are strangely familiar. As a psychopathic stalker starts zoning in on Courtney, and her life becomes more and more endangered, Courtney teams up with a sorceress who fought in WW1, a retired professor and two girls who claim to be her best friend and her true love, to try and make it back to where she truly belongs.
I was instantly sold by the tagline ‘sapphic flappers’, because, come on, who isn’t dying for some 1920s f/f with a bit of magic thrown in there! But I also felt that Cassandra managed to capture the essence of the early 2000s so perfectly; subverting the trope of the stuck up, preppy mean girl and instead making her a sweet yet tough girl who can stand up for herself in a fight, compliments girl’s outfits as she passes them on the street, and listens to punk music on her iPod on the way to work! It was an absolute joy to read from Courtney’s perspective – I loved her take no shit from men attitude, juxtaposed by her love of women and the kindness with which she treats them. I also really loved Sadie – she was a real darling – and I loved her eagerness and curiosity when it came to Courtney’s life. The little bits of 1920s slang peppered into the dialogue was such a nice touch, and I really think that we should bring some of it back (come on, ducky is just such an adorable word!)! Even the characterisation of the villains in the book was done so well – they perfectly emulated and personified what every woman fears about men, and so you felt Courtney and Sadie’s fear alongside them while reading.
The plot kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through! I love time travel books, although I haven’t found too many that I click with, and I think Cassandra’s take on time travel was so inventive, instead taking the parallel-universe theory and different ‘strings’ of universes to explain Courtney’s story. The magic system which related to this time travelling was so interesting too (I don’t want to spoil anything about it, though, as I think it’s fun to discover it alongside Sadie and Courtney), and I can’t wait to learn more about it in the sequel! Furthermore, Cassandra’s writing is just absolutely stunning – the book is full of lush metaphors and gorgeous similes and you can’t help but want to bask in the beautiful wordplay that she has created!
I love, love, loved the inclusion of a sapphic love triangle in the book! They are so few and far between (a tragedy in itself) and I think it was a really fun addition to the book, although I’m not sure who I want to end up together as end-game – I love them all so much! The romance did take a slight back seat to the rest of the plot, however, so if romance isn’t really your cup of tea and you’re looking for a really fun, action packed story, then I think that this one will be really up your street!
Overall, this was a really fun historical-fiction-fantasy-sci-fi novel that I absolutely flew through, devouring Courtney and Sadie’s story from start to finish! It’s a real gutsy, feminist, sapphic story that I know is going to speak to so many people and I can’t wait to see where this series goes!
TW: assault, sexual assault, rape threats, violence, guns, weapons, drug use mention, abusive parents, very mild gore
Thank you to the author for providing me a copy of this book! This did not impact my review and all views are my own!
I’d heard some really great things about his book before I picked it up, and the synopsis alone sounds absolutely fantastic, but nothing could have prepared me for what a fun, whirlwind of a ride this book was! Mary, Everything opens in 2004, and follows Courtney who is spending her Summer working in her university’s dusty archives. While out on her lunchbreak one day, she bumps into Sadie – who feels slightly out of place and is dressed in a seriously cool vintage outfit – and the two become quick friends. As Courtney’s work continues, she finds an old yearbook, dating from the 1920s, and she can’t help but think some of those faces are strangely familiar. As a psychopathic stalker starts zoning in on Courtney, and her life becomes more and more endangered, Courtney teams up with a sorceress who fought in WW1, a retired professor and two girls who claim to be her best friend and her true love, to try and make it back to where she truly belongs.
I was instantly sold by the tagline ‘sapphic flappers’, because, come on, who isn’t dying for some 1920s f/f with a bit of magic thrown in there! But I also felt that Cassandra managed to capture the essence of the early 2000s so perfectly; subverting the trope of the stuck up, preppy mean girl and instead making her a sweet yet tough girl who can stand up for herself in a fight, compliments girl’s outfits as she passes them on the street, and listens to punk music on her iPod on the way to work! It was an absolute joy to read from Courtney’s perspective – I loved her take no shit from men attitude, juxtaposed by her love of women and the kindness with which she treats them. I also really loved Sadie – she was a real darling – and I loved her eagerness and curiosity when it came to Courtney’s life. The little bits of 1920s slang peppered into the dialogue was such a nice touch, and I really think that we should bring some of it back (come on, ducky is just such an adorable word!)! Even the characterisation of the villains in the book was done so well – they perfectly emulated and personified what every woman fears about men, and so you felt Courtney and Sadie’s fear alongside them while reading.
The plot kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through! I love time travel books, although I haven’t found too many that I click with, and I think Cassandra’s take on time travel was so inventive, instead taking the parallel-universe theory and different ‘strings’ of universes to explain Courtney’s story. The magic system which related to this time travelling was so interesting too (I don’t want to spoil anything about it, though, as I think it’s fun to discover it alongside Sadie and Courtney), and I can’t wait to learn more about it in the sequel! Furthermore, Cassandra’s writing is just absolutely stunning – the book is full of lush metaphors and gorgeous similes and you can’t help but want to bask in the beautiful wordplay that she has created!
I love, love, loved the inclusion of a sapphic love triangle in the book! They are so few and far between (a tragedy in itself) and I think it was a really fun addition to the book, although I’m not sure who I want to end up together as end-game – I love them all so much! The romance did take a slight back seat to the rest of the plot, however, so if romance isn’t really your cup of tea and you’re looking for a really fun, action packed story, then I think that this one will be really up your street!
Overall, this was a really fun historical-fiction-fantasy-sci-fi novel that I absolutely flew through, devouring Courtney and Sadie’s story from start to finish! It’s a real gutsy, feminist, sapphic story that I know is going to speak to so many people and I can’t wait to see where this series goes!
TW: assault, sexual assault, rape threats, violence, guns, weapons, drug use mention, abusive parents, very mild gore
Thank you to the author for providing me a copy of this book! This did not impact my review and all views are my own!