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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I did not set out to write a book about refugees. This isn't a book about refugees; it's a book about belonging, about belonging to no place and every place.
--Elizabeth Wein, Stateless, Author's Note, Bloomsbury YA paperback edition, p. 381
This book was one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
It did, however, suffer from pacing problems, which is all I can remember since I read it over a month ago now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Antisemitism
Minor: Misogyny, Suicide, and Pandemic/Epidemic
The novel is set in August and September of 1937 during an international flight race across the United Kingdom and Europe. Fascism and Nazism are on the rise. Various historical events are referenced throughout the novel: World War One, the Spanish Civil War (with many references to the bombing of Guernica), and the growing tide of antisemitism. Murders (and attempted murders) are committed in the air. There is minor gun violence. There is a mass stabbing event referenced. The author's note references the Holocaust, Kristallnacht, the current war in Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic.