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A review by theinquisitxor
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
4.0
I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would! This book has been on my radar since it was released last year, and I decided to pick it up and give it a try. It's based off the folk ballad, The Twa Sisters, and is set in an early medieval Briton.
Some things I loved about this story:
-The Setting: I am always a little hesitant about books set in the middle ages, let alone the 5th century like this book is. I do think this book handled the historical period well, and this was set during a tumultuous period of British history- the Romans just left, the Saxons are invading, and Christianity is starting to spread. Also similar to the setting, the atmosphere was just right.
-A trans main character: I did not know before starting this book that one of the main characters would be trans, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The conceptualization of gender and someone switching genders during the early middle ages was an interesting topic for Holland to explore. There is a lot that we don't know about 5th century Briton societies, and we certainly don't know their thoughts on gender identity, so it gives the author a lot of agency to write whatever they want.
-The Magic: One of the main conflicts of this book is the clash between the old pagan religion vs the new Christianity. This reminded me at times of The Bear and the Nightingale, where a similar conflict takes place. The pagan magic and rituals were very interesting, and I wish that more survived of what these pre-Christian British societies actually were like.
Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. The writing is fairly simple, and I think it would have benefited from more complex writing, but I still found it enjoyable. Holland's next book is titled The Wild Hunt, and I will definitely be picking that one up in 2023!
Some things I loved about this story:
-The Setting: I am always a little hesitant about books set in the middle ages, let alone the 5th century like this book is. I do think this book handled the historical period well, and this was set during a tumultuous period of British history- the Romans just left, the Saxons are invading, and Christianity is starting to spread. Also similar to the setting, the atmosphere was just right.
-A trans main character: I did not know before starting this book that one of the main characters would be trans, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The conceptualization of gender and someone switching genders during the early middle ages was an interesting topic for Holland to explore. There is a lot that we don't know about 5th century Briton societies, and we certainly don't know their thoughts on gender identity, so it gives the author a lot of agency to write whatever they want.
-The Magic: One of the main conflicts of this book is the clash between the old pagan religion vs the new Christianity. This reminded me at times of The Bear and the Nightingale, where a similar conflict takes place. The pagan magic and rituals were very interesting, and I wish that more survived of what these pre-Christian British societies actually were like.
Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. The writing is fairly simple, and I think it would have benefited from more complex writing, but I still found it enjoyable. Holland's next book is titled The Wild Hunt, and I will definitely be picking that one up in 2023!