lsoccer12's review against another edition
This book was poetically well written, but the story line got too uneventful to hold my attention.
cmw356's review against another edition
Very interesting themes and details that encourage independent research and study. However the book itself is rather simple and feels rushed, it hurrys through it's plot.
tara_ej's review against another edition
3.0
This was an absolutely wonderful novel! Although this novel is not completely historically accurate, but brought to light some historical events I felt were brushed over. I did not rate Act of Faith higher because I felt like it dragged on for a long time, however, I enjoyed it.
novelty_reads's review against another edition
4.0
That book was quite an adventure for 220 pages. Not going to lie about that fact. It was a unique blend of history, philosophy, adventure, travel and of course books. It was a feminist read all about a girl who worked with a controversial editor to publish books in a world where such ideas were dangerous. It was a book with a setting and themes that I didn’t really read about before that or I haven’t read much about in YA.
I found Isabella Hawkins, the main character to be quite modern for her age and I was extremely jealous of how smart she was and how she knew so many languages. I love learning languages personally, learning French and Korean and yes, I would love to learn many more like she did. She knew languages from Italian to Greek and even Latin!
The writing also was commendable it wasn’t like the usual stereotypical YA with easy to read language or the language that we in the 21st century typically use. No, it had more sophisticated language that completely suited the book and the century that it was set in making the characters all the more believable. But from one reader to the next I would like to say that the language shouldn’t be something you stumble over.
I’m keeping this review short simply because it was a short book but all in all it was a fun and quick read that was well written with well-rounded characters. I would recommend this one to anyone who likes a little bit of history and philosophy but want something they can get through fast.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 STARS
rox74's review against another edition
3.0
This book is set in Europe during the 1600s. The story starts with the English civil war, then moves to the Amsterdam and Venetian publishing scene, and finally to the Spanish Inquisition. In England, it was the Catholics and their ideas and books that were under attack and on the mainland it was the Protestants who were the enemy. The Jewish people weren’t welcome in either place. This story touches on all of this history in the context of book publishing, in particular those books that were banned by authorities. The story also has a strong feminist view. I quite enjoyed the story, although it was a little weak. I think the major drawcard for me was the interesting subject matter.
emlinthegremlin's review
3.0
I enjoyed the book. I came into it with rather low expectations, to be honest - and yet it surprised me with its gorgeous simplicity and general appropriateness. It was a delightful read. The only criticism I have is that it is desperately slow moving. Other than that, it was a fun and delightful winter read.
justabean_reads's review
4.0
In structure it's such a familiar Girl's Own Adventure YA story that I actually started feeling horribly nostalgic about thirty pages in. This is the kind of story I ate like ice cream when I was a teenager. This is not a book with many, if any, surprises.
But it did what it set out to do well. If you want a book about a plucky, polyglot orphan who travels around a beautifully-rendered seventeenth-century Europe making friends and having adventures (and if by describing this you could mentally picture the entire plot and suddenly felt horribly nostalgic), well this could be a book for you!
I'm given to understand that the next one departs for the format, and I'm interested to read that now too.
But it did what it set out to do well. If you want a book about a plucky, polyglot orphan who travels around a beautifully-rendered seventeenth-century Europe making friends and having adventures (and if by describing this you could mentally picture the entire plot and suddenly felt horribly nostalgic), well this could be a book for you!
I'm given to understand that the next one departs for the format, and I'm interested to read that now too.
More...