A review by deagaric
Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Vivid retelling of The Scarlet Letter through Hester Prynne's perspective.

This is a speculative historical fiction of the woman and story that inspired Hawthorne's famous novel. Hawthorne himself plays a major role here as he pursues and subsequently almost ruins Isobel, the woman who will later be known to all as Hester.

I enjoyed reading this and thought it was a well-written story of personal growth and learning to redefine one's purpose in the world. There were parts that were a tad slow-paced, some story lines didn't seem to come together as cohesively as I wished, and there was some unexpected violence and gore in a couple places, but overall, an interesting read for anyone familiar with the classic.

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