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A review by rknitss
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book comes with a page one content warning. It is important to check that out if you're a younger reader or looking to give this book to a younger reader. I wouldn't say that any of the atrocities in this book are described graphically (and in most places are strongly implied rather than shown), but they are mentioned. This is historical fiction that takes place during the reign of a monster. The author has been extremely up front about all of this.
With that in mind, I think a younger reader could handle this. I would have been ok to read this at 13 or so but I know I shouldn't be the bench mark. The writing is excellent but clearly leans hard to a young adult/teen audience.
This was really hard for me to get into (hence the less than 5 stars). Our main POV character is an angry, spoiled girl when she starts and she stays angry through out. Rightfully so. Her journey to get back to her sister is difficult to say the least, there's a serial killer on the loose putting a rebellion in danger... but she is very easy to dislike up front and that made it hard for me to follow her journey. At First. Struggling past the 60ish page mark, I hit my stride and the book sucked me in.
This book features a dual POV that I haven't seen before. In mostly alternating chapters we have the first person narrative from Iseul, the aforementioned angry girl, and then a third person narrative that follows Daehyun, the "favorite" brother of the Tyrant King. It took me a bit to get used to the POV shift but it made for a very interesting read, especially when the characters interacted.
I would recommend this book to anyone (even young readers) who liked Red Palace by June Hur and fans ofhistorical fiction. I would even say this is a good introduction to it.
With that in mind, I think a younger reader could handle this. I would have been ok to read this at 13 or so but I know I shouldn't be the bench mark. The writing is excellent but clearly leans hard to a young adult/teen audience.
This was really hard for me to get into (hence the less than 5 stars). Our main POV character is an angry, spoiled girl when she starts and she stays angry through out. Rightfully so. Her journey to get back to her sister is difficult to say the least, there's a serial killer on the loose putting a rebellion in danger... but she is very easy to dislike up front and that made it hard for me to follow her journey. At First. Struggling past the 60ish page mark, I hit my stride and the book sucked me in.
This book features a dual POV that I haven't seen before. In mostly alternating chapters we have the first person narrative from Iseul, the aforementioned angry girl, and then a third person narrative that follows Daehyun, the "favorite" brother of the Tyrant King. It took me a bit to get used to the POV shift but it made for a very interesting read, especially when the characters interacted.
I would recommend this book to anyone (even young readers) who liked Red Palace by June Hur and fans ofhistorical fiction. I would even say this is a good introduction to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Incest, Suicide, Torture, and Blood