ARC Review: Rebel Daughter by Lori Banov Kaufmann

Rebel Daughter

by Lori Banov Kaufmann

Publication Date:  February 9^th 2021

Publisher:  Delacorte Press

Find This Book: Rebel Daughter

Rating: 4/5

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rebel Daughter starts off strong with heartfelt characters and careful attention to historical detail. It really felt like I’d been visiting 1st century Jerusalem every time I picked up this book! The best part is that all the details felt natural, time-traveling descriptions never bogged down the plot or emotional depth of scenes. The story is of Esther, the daughter of a priest, worries for her marriage prospects and for her family as tensions erupt in her home between the Jewish people and their Roman conquerors. As war erupts, Esther struggles not only to keep it together but also to keep her family together. A story where people and friendships are not as they seem, Rebel Daughter bears witness to all the strong women who have shaped and desperately survived history.

My only critique is that there a couple jarring time-jumps. One between chapters is excusable and between chapters can be a murky passage of time, but the one that happens between mere paragraphs not demarcated in any way ruined the immersion for me. It took several pages to re-adjust back to the plot. I realize that the time jumps probably fit with a historical timeline, but it could have been padded or headlined for a smoother flow of the story.

ARC Review: Open Fire by Amber Lough

Open Fire

by Amber Lough

Publication Date: March 3^rd 2020

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Find This Book: Open Fire 

Rating: 3.5/5

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for honest review.

I don’t know much about early female military groups, or even much about the Russian front in basically any wars because of how the US school system always frames history, so I jumped at the chance to read a YA book starring the first female Russian battalion. I loved getting to learn about Katya and her complex relationships, her family history gets teased out chapter by chapter as we learn about her mother, father, brother, and best friend Masha. Her disagreements and ultimate understanding with her brother was beautiful as they both navigate the consequences of war and current political upheaval. Weaving through Katya’s story is a beautiful bedtime story about Saint Olga, told to Katya by her father years before all of the events that take place. Characterizing her father and visualizing her attachment to this saint in particular was a great way to add layers and emotions to both Katya and her absentee father who is, during the events of the book, stationed indefinitely on Russia’s warfront. The writing was captivating and seemingly well researched. I certainly learned a lot, and was sitting on the edge of my seat when the battalion ends up on the front lines!

Some other reviews have mentioned that the book falls a bit flat, which I can understand from the perspective of a ‘climax’ but a believe that is essential, if not inherent, to a World War I novel. Yes, Katya trained extensively and didn’t accomplish much while on the battlefield; but that is what trench warfare was. It was a grueling, thankless, task of taking the opponent’s trenches that inevitably was lost again. It was an endless stalemate, and it’s hard to make trench warfare interesting. That all being said, I didn’t find this ending to necessarily be about the setting, and more about how Katya started off the book trying to figure out who she was and if she would be brave or a coward when facing down death, and she found her answer. I found the climax to be this sudden understanding of the self, and it was quite beautiful.

I couldn’t rate this a full 4 or 5 stars because it felt like too much was being squished into the story by adding Sergei as a character. I understand that historically a lot was going on with the start of the Bolshevik revolution during this time period, but I think this lost a bit of my focus. I’m  not sure if I would have enjoyed it more if the Bolsheviks had been cut, or if their presence had been more fully developed. 

Review: The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen

The Bird and the Blade

by Megan Bannen

Publication Date: June 5^th 2018

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Find This Book: The Bird and the Blade

Rating: 5/5

I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was *living* for this historical fiction stand-alone book. The Prologue into Part One confused me a bit because of the timeline, but I quickly wrapped my head around the story of the book and once I picked the book up after a good night’s rest I loved the flow Bannen picked. Like I said, the timeline is a little wonky at first, but it fits the story being told perfectly. The Prologue is two character’s meeting for the first time, and the beginning of Part One is the beginning of the climax of the book. The novel then switches between the journey leading up to the climax, and little snippets of the climax. You slowly discover bits of information about the three main characters, the recent history of the empire they live in, and LOTS of fun poetry/riddles. I wouldn’t want the book set up any other way!

What I really love about the novel is how seamlessly the story flows. It feels natural, even though this specific story didn’t occur. The topic is obviously well-researched to make the plot feel so smooth. The Bird and the Blade is actually a retelling of “Prince Khalaf and the Princess of China” a story about how a great king must be a competent warrior and extremely wise. A Princess tells 3 riddles that must be answered in order to be married, a Prince and his slave respond to the call- that’s as vaguely specific as I’m going to get so that I don’t spoil anything not given away at the beginning of the book! Basically, I really enjoyed how this non-mongolian story was able to be transplanted into the chaos of the Mongolian/Song turmoil and was able to use historical East Asian events to portray this new rendition of a Persian story.

Furthermore, the characters and their development in this story felt so natural. It’s amazing what traveling across a continent in close quarters will do to a small group of travelers. Namely, a Khan in exile, a Prince in exile, and their slave. The POV is from the slave, and the father-son dynamic seen from the outside was stellar. Jinghua (the slave) is full of mystery and creates a compelling main character, even for the parts of the story when you know practically nothing about her.

This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, riddles, and intricate relationships (romantically and familial).

BroodyBFF Challenge #3: LGBT+ Lit History/Most Anticipated

So my prompt for this challenge is to talk about my favorite, or most anticipated LGBTQIA+ YA books. Unfortunately, I haven't read too many YA books where the main character doesn't identify as cis and het. SO, this post ventures a bit beyond my usual realm and shall dive into important books in queer history (aka not YA) and my anticipated YA reads that are available to us because of the books that opened the door before them!

History

1890

A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. What would this list be without the most famous closeted, subtext-riddled book?  Dorian, can be interpreted as bisexual, and the affectionate painter as gay. It's a pretty tragic story of corruption and untimely deaths, but we would be amiss to not include Oscar Wilde on our list!

1936

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes. Honestly this book isn't just about queer people, it embodies queerness. The novel is a disorientation from reality, centered around Robin Vote who is also a bisexual character, though is mostly seen with female lovers. This book is seriously a piece of work and tough to tackle, I don't think I'll ever fully understand this novel. It's been called "a masterpiece of modernism" by the Washington Post Book World, and a "lesbian classic" by Dorothy Allison.

1973

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. Honestly this is my favorite book on this list. This book is about growing up a lesbian in America. It's pretty humorous, and tackles being human and her sexuality in a less serious tone than the rest of this list. Now you may be questioning this book's artistic merit- fair point. It's not quite the prose of Nightwood, however, it contains radical ideas. It shows that society values women as a necessary component to male sexuality. Women are objects for the male libido. It's 'thesis' is about having value as an individual, outside of men, which is so important.

1982

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde. Audre Lorde is a technical and emotional master with a pen. An important Feminist and Civil Rights Activist, this book is an "biomythography" about herself. In my personal opinion, this is the most powerful book on this list. Audre Lorde gives us a look into her poor, lesbian, POC life in (primarily) New York. This is so multifaceted, facing a wide range of issues starting early in her childhood.

2008

A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee. A gay, illegal Indian immigrant in London, and a (presumably) cis, straight English woman in India during Partition having intertwining stories in this novel. Partition isa bit of a taboo topic that we do not hear talked about much out in the world, and this book contains so many important elements that should be talked about. They both go through a lot with culture shock and have parallel journeys of working towards self-discovery.

2015

Hanayome wa Motodanshi (The Bride Was a Boy) by chii. This is in manga form and will be one of the cutest things you ever read. This manga is about a trans women and the experiences that led her to her present situation. Written by chii, about her own life, makes this a very powerful to read. chii describes meeting her husband, many of the tricky laws in Japan regarding sexuality and gender, and her experience navigating everything.

Anticipated Reads!

A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Bisexuals in 18th century Europe. (June 27th 2017)

Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan. Genderfluid child of Loki. (October 3rd 2017)

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann. Asexual Biromantic librarian. (January 23rd 2018) 

What are your most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books?

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You can check out my fellow #BroodyBFF responses on Twitter! 

Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads 

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The BroodyBFF's street team will run from May to November, so check back here at Love at First Write regularly for new challenges and updates, and follow me and @broodingyahero on Twitter to see the hashtags, visual challenges, and #BroodyChats!