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A review by camillou
The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
— 4.5 stars* —
The Magnolia Sword is a book I adored. It is a very well researched and compelling retelling of Mulan, from an own voices Chinese perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, the depiction of the world the story is set, and of course the characters.
Going into this book, I was a bit dubious, mainly because of the cover. I know, you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But though it's pretty, it doesn't highlight what's really going on in this book, and feels too clean, at least in my opinion.
I loved seeing this version of Mulan, which I know mostly through Disney. I loved that it was layered with not only the fact that Mulan goes to war and gets wind up into this 'there's a traitor and we must find it' plot, but there was also this family feud/duel thing going on that was absolutely captivating. It's more than just cross-dressing and war. It is a story about family, tradition, treason, finding yourself, exploring the world, and it is also about love and what you must do: follow your head, or follow your heart. The reactions felt real, the way she was able to fight, yet wanted to fulfill her promise and get home safe. How her duty became more important.
I love the interactions between all the characters, and the MC & LI were the cutest. I was swooning and I honestly had such a great time. I also love the importance of friendship in this book, and how the story unfolds itself. The world feels very vast and large, and distances felt real.
At times, it did feel a bit of info-dumping, but it was also fascinating. The author's note shows that she did loads of research, and the little nerd in me who loves facts thought it was really interesting and appreciated it.
I knocked down ‘a star’ because the ending felt rushed unfortunately, and almost to good to be true, but wow, what a blast I had reading this book. I was tempted to pick it up again as soon as I reached the ending, so that is saying something! I will definitely be re-reading this one in the future.
The Magnolia Sword is a book I adored. It is a very well researched and compelling retelling of Mulan, from an own voices Chinese perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, the depiction of the world the story is set, and of course the characters.
Going into this book, I was a bit dubious, mainly because of the cover. I know, you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But though it's pretty, it doesn't highlight what's really going on in this book, and feels too clean, at least in my opinion.
I loved seeing this version of Mulan, which I know mostly through Disney. I loved that it was layered with not only the fact that Mulan goes to war and gets wind up into this 'there's a traitor and we must find it' plot, but there was also this family feud/duel thing going on that was absolutely captivating. It's more than just cross-dressing and war. It is a story about family, tradition, treason, finding yourself, exploring the world, and it is also about love and what you must do: follow your head, or follow your heart. The reactions felt real, the way she was able to fight, yet wanted to fulfill her promise and get home safe. How her duty became more important.
I love the interactions between all the characters, and the MC & LI were the cutest. I was swooning and I honestly had such a great time. I also love the importance of friendship in this book, and how the story unfolds itself. The world feels very vast and large, and distances felt real.
At times, it did feel a bit of info-dumping, but it was also fascinating. The author's note shows that she did loads of research, and the little nerd in me who loves facts thought it was really interesting and appreciated it.
I knocked down ‘a star’ because the ending felt rushed unfortunately, and almost to good to be true, but wow, what a blast I had reading this book. I was tempted to pick it up again as soon as I reached the ending, so that is saying something! I will definitely be re-reading this one in the future.