A review by rachaelbeau
Dragonfly by Leila Meacham
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to start the review by saying "I think this book wasn't for me" but after thinking about that for a while, I'm not sure that's even true.
Things I Love in a Historical Fiction Novel:
WW2 stories - Check
German occupied Paris, France - Check
Strong female leads - Check
Beautiful, descriptive, lush writing - Check, again.
I just never felt like I connected with this book. I found it difficult to follow who was who, as we basically had to remember 3 names for each character and their full backstory at any given time. Different characters referred to other characters as different names, and it just got to be too confusing. I also thought it had way too many characters, too many moving parts, to easily follow it. I love a book that is engaging, but that I don't have to think too hard. Reading is my wind down, it's my cozy place. This book, at least the first half, was so confusing I had to stay alert. I also never quite could follow who was who of the boys, as they all seemed to be the same person to me. The code with the mural also didn't quite work for me, I didn't fully understand it and the parts around it were quite boring.
I did like the story, it was engaging, the 2 female characters were great. The whole thing felt really meh to me, though. The ending was a let down as well. It really just fell very flat for me. If you are new to historical fiction and want something fairly easy to stomach, this could be the one for you. I don't mind the horrors that historical fiction, specifically WW2 historical fiction, tend to be about. Maybe that's where it's really just me, not the book.
Things I Love in a Historical Fiction Novel:
WW2 stories - Check
German occupied Paris, France - Check
Strong female leads - Check
Beautiful, descriptive, lush writing - Check, again.
I just never felt like I connected with this book. I found it difficult to follow who was who, as we basically had to remember 3 names for each character and their full backstory at any given time. Different characters referred to other characters as different names, and it just got to be too confusing. I also thought it had way too many characters, too many moving parts, to easily follow it. I love a book that is engaging, but that I don't have to think too hard. Reading is my wind down, it's my cozy place. This book, at least the first half, was so confusing I had to stay alert. I also never quite could follow who was who of the boys, as they all seemed to be the same person to me. The code with the mural also didn't quite work for me, I didn't fully understand it and the parts around it were quite boring.
I did like the story, it was engaging, the 2 female characters were great. The whole thing felt really meh to me, though. The ending was a let down as well. It really just fell very flat for me. If you are new to historical fiction and want something fairly easy to stomach, this could be the one for you. I don't mind the horrors that historical fiction, specifically WW2 historical fiction, tend to be about. Maybe that's where it's really just me, not the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape