Tag Archives: reimagined history

Review: Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,
Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

Westfallen
Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares
Simon & Schuster
Published September 17, 2024

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About Westfallen

From #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares and her brother Ben Brashares comes an action-packed middle grade alternate history thriller that asks what it would be like to wake up in present-day America if Germany had won World War II.

Henry, Frances, and Lukas are neighbors, and they used to be best friends. But in middle school, things can change fast—Frances has become an emo art-girl, Lukas has gone full sports bro, and Henry has gone sort of nowhere. But when a dead gerbil brings them together again, the three ex-friends make an impossible discovery: a radio buried in Henry’s backyard that allows them to talk to another group of kids in the same town…on the same street…in the same backyard…seventy-nine years in the past.

The kids in 1944 want to know all about the future: are there jetpacks? Laser guns? Teleportation? Most of all, they want to know about the outcome of the war their dads and brothers are fighting in. Henry and his friends are cautious—they’ve all seen movies about what happens when you disrupt the fabric of time—but figure there’s no harm in telling them a little bit, just enough so they can stop worrying so much. And, at first, everything seems fine. Nothing’s changed—well, nothing so big they can’t contain it, anyway.

Until Henry, Frances, and Lukas wake up on May 6, 2024, to an America ruled by Nazis. They changed history. And now it’s up to them to change it back.

My Review

The radio that connects kids from two different time periods sets up this novel’s unique approach to World War II historical fiction. It allows readers to compare and contrast differences in American suburban life in 1944 versus 2023, which I thought was pretty cool.

The story alternates between Henry’s perspective in 2023 and Alice’s point of view in 1944. These scenes remain pretty short, with sometimes three or so per chapter. While the plot requires a bit of willing suspension of disbelief (for example, the kids convince an adult to help them stage a poorly planned jailbreak), the story stays focused on the actions of its younger characters for the most part. The kids get to be the heroes faced with preserving the victory of the Allied forces and keeping the United States from falling into German control permanently.

I didn’t expect the book to be a series opener, so when the setup for the next book emerged in the final chapter, that took me a bit by surprise. I’m curious to see where the series goes and would love to see it explore other possible alternate histories in the same time periods.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Lukas is Jewish. Henry is biracial.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Henry sees evidence that someone beat up a child. Jewish people are forced to work and/or imprisoned.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
Andrew Joseph White
Peachtree Teen
Published September 5, 2023

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About The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.

My Review

This book makes me realize how often I eat while I’m reading. I do not recommend doing that while reading this book– which is probably an obvious idea. It’s a horror novel, after all.

One of the main reasons this book hit my TBR list is that I was so blown away by the author’s debut, HELL FOLLOWED WITH US, which is a post-apocalyptic horror novel. If you ever wondered how post-apocalyptic stories and reimagined history could overlap, this pair of books would make a good study.

If I had to describe this book in under ten words, I would say, GIRL, INTERRUPTED but make it queer horror/historical fantasy. Just like his debut, Andrew Joseph White delivers stark prose and anguished characters. The relationships between some of the characters provide bright spots and soothing moments between the intensity of the other scenes.

I really appreciated the romance thread and the hopefulness that a few of the characters find as they form relationships with one another. It does get into some pretty intense body horror and gruesome medical descriptions, so this won’t be a novel for everyone. I also appreciate that the author includes a content warning at the front of the book.

All in all, horror will never be my favorite genre, but I am absolutely in awe of writers like Andrew Joseph White who deliver fast-paced, deep stories with incredible characters and unforgettable moments. If you’re looking for a dark, twisty horror novel with a hopeful undertone, grab this one immediately.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Silas is transgender and has autism. Another character is transgender. Brief mentions of women who have romantic feelings for each other.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used a bit frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
In one scene, a man grabs Silas and forces a kiss on him. Kissing between a boy and girl. Some characters shame others for being sexually active or for doing something perceived as flirting or being alone with a man.

Spiritual Content
Characters with violet eyes have the ability to see into the spirit realm and communicate with the spirits of people who have died. When men do this, it’s a sign of power, but women with this ability are told they’re sick and must be “treated.” (Read: tortured until their captors are satisfied they are submissive enough.)

Violent Content
Very specific descriptions of medical procedures, such as a hysterectomy. Some instances of torture. For example, one woman is forced to walk with glass in her shoes every day. A girl throws another girl down the stairs. At one point, a girl attacks another girl, choking and hitting her. A girl bites another girl. A man presents a woman to an audience after having removed her eyes, tongue, and teeth. The woman has apparently self-inflicted wounds on her wrists that look as if she bit herself.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Flower and Thorn by Rati Mehrotra

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Flower and Thorn
Rati Mehrotra
Wednesday Books
Published October 17, 2023

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About Flower and Thorn

One girl. One boy.
A promise broken.
A magic stolen.

Irinya has wanted to be a flower hunter ever since her mother disappeared into the mysterious mist of the Rann salt flats one night. Now seventeen, Irinya uses her knowledge of magical flowers to help her caravan survive in the harsh desert. When her handsome hunting partner and childhood friend finds a priceless silver spider lily–said to be able to tear down kingdoms and defeat an entire army–Irinya knows this is their chance for a better life.

Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive imposter.

Irinya’s fight to recover the priceless flower and to fix what she’s done takes her on a dangerous journey, one she’s not sure she’ll survive. She has no choice but to endure it if she hopes to return home and mend the broken heart of the boy she’s left behind.

My Review

One of the things I’ve learned about myself as a reader lately is that I struggle with long chapters. Chapter length isn’t something I usually know about a book before I start reading. Some books genuinely need longer chapters because of how they’re structured. This one is one of those. But, because I am a reader who struggles with long chapters, it took me a long time to feel like I hit my stride with this book.

Once I did, though, I was completely hooked. Like, I enjoyed the story from the early scenes, but it felt like it was taking a long time to read, and I kept having to stop mid-chapter, which really threw me off when I started reading again the next time.

I loved the story’s setting. It’s set in India at a time when the country is besieged by the Portuguese. The characters hope to use magic flowers as a weapon in the war, and hope to keep their existence secret from the invaders, though it isn’t clear if they can.

The story has some commentary on markets and unfair systems, particularly those that marginalize nomad communities. I thought the commentary on that was thoughtful and well-integrated into the story. Irinya hopes to help her people find a way to sell the magic flowers for a fair price, as opposed to the current system, in which a few powerful, wealthy individuals control the system.

I really liked Irinya’s character. She’s stubborn, willful, and deeply loyal to her people. She’s fierce and brave. Definitely my kind of heroine.

Conclusion

Definitely by the 20 or 25% mark, I was deeply invested in the story and needed to know what really happened with the mysterious stranger who’d promised the world to Irinya and the deep betrayal between her and her best friend, Fardan. I’m super glad I read this book, and I’m eager for more by this author. I really enjoyed her debut, NIGHT OF THE RAVEN, DAWN OF THE DOVE, as well.

Content Notes for Flower and Thorn

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Indian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two women are in a romantic relationship. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some flowers have magic abilities to heal or travel through time or space. Irinya can hear the flowers speaking to her.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Irinya sees a person killed by deadly wasp stings. Several characters engage in battle with swords and other weapons. Some are fatally injured. Irinya uses a blowpipe with poison thorns as a weapon. Thugs kill a man with a knife. A woman hits someone with a cooking pot in a battle.

Drug Content
References to alcoholic drinks.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of FLOWER AND THORN in exchange for my honest review.