A review by vbarrett17
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
4.0
4.5 STARS
First of all, I have to start by applauding Marie Lu. I have a soft spot for her because her debut series ("Legend") is what sparked the book monster that I am today. I have so much respect for her. She tackles multiple genres and produces beautiful work in everything that she does!
With that being said, this novel was exquisite. "The Kingdom of Back" is a historical fantasy that is centered around Mozart's older sister, Nannerl. I learned so much about her and young Mozart! They BOTH were talented musicians AND composers. The reason we do not hear much about Nannerl is because in their time period, composing music was a man's profession.
I really enjoyed the family aspects, specifically the sibling bond between Nannerl and Wolfgang. They were very close to one another and their love showed in even the smallest interactions. They encouraged each other and protected each other with such ferocity.
Where the fantasy element came into play was a separate world called, the Kingdom of Back. It turns out, the siblings created this world with their imaginations to pass the long travels as they toured around Europe to perform in real life! Marie Lu weaved together this mystical land with the desires of Nannerl to be known for her music in her fictional story in a very unique and exciting way! I think it is best to go in this novel without much background knowledge, so I will leave it at that.
The only critique I have is I wish the fantastical element was more concrete. It felt almost like it wasn't real and more dream-like in the story. I wish the readers had more time learning about this interesting kingdom. Also, the book's timeline spans for nearly a decade (excluding the epilogue), and it is not written in specific detail of when things happen. Months take place within a paragraph. I know the characters are becoming older, but I wish I knew what stage of life they were in for certain scenes to bring more clarity. Other than that, I had a wonderful time reading this novel!
Marie Lu poured out a ton of research into this novel, and I think she portrayed Nannerl and Wolfgang's story well. I highly recommend reading the author's note at the end to find out more about her inspiration in this story and listening to Mozart's compositions to put you in the mood!
First of all, I have to start by applauding Marie Lu. I have a soft spot for her because her debut series ("Legend") is what sparked the book monster that I am today. I have so much respect for her. She tackles multiple genres and produces beautiful work in everything that she does!
With that being said, this novel was exquisite. "The Kingdom of Back" is a historical fantasy that is centered around Mozart's older sister, Nannerl. I learned so much about her and young Mozart! They BOTH were talented musicians AND composers. The reason we do not hear much about Nannerl is because in their time period, composing music was a man's profession.
I really enjoyed the family aspects, specifically the sibling bond between Nannerl and Wolfgang. They were very close to one another and their love showed in even the smallest interactions. They encouraged each other and protected each other with such ferocity.
Where the fantasy element came into play was a separate world called, the Kingdom of Back. It turns out, the siblings created this world with their imaginations to pass the long travels as they toured around Europe to perform in real life! Marie Lu weaved together this mystical land with the desires of Nannerl to be known for her music in her fictional story in a very unique and exciting way! I think it is best to go in this novel without much background knowledge, so I will leave it at that.
The only critique I have is I wish the fantastical element was more concrete. It felt almost like it wasn't real and more dream-like in the story. I wish the readers had more time learning about this interesting kingdom. Also, the book's timeline spans for nearly a decade (excluding the epilogue), and it is not written in specific detail of when things happen. Months take place within a paragraph. I know the characters are becoming older, but I wish I knew what stage of life they were in for certain scenes to bring more clarity. Other than that, I had a wonderful time reading this novel!
Marie Lu poured out a ton of research into this novel, and I think she portrayed Nannerl and Wolfgang's story well. I highly recommend reading the author's note at the end to find out more about her inspiration in this story and listening to Mozart's compositions to put you in the mood!