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A review by leahegood
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
4.0
What if the imaginary world of your childhood was real and impacted the real world? What if a lost prince offered to grant your deepest wish, if only you help him with a quest of his own? What if that kingdom, the quest, and your wish began to hurt those you love most?
Summary
This story is narrated by Maria Anna Mozart, affectionately called Nannerl, older sister to the renown Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Nannerl is a child prodigy and musical genius in equal measure to her brother. All her life, she has used music to try to connect with her distant, authoritarian father. When her brother's genius is recognized, she feels her connection with her father slipping away. Worse, composition is considered a man's work. Nannerl longs to writer her own songs, but she knows they will never be remembered. If her father discovered them, they might even be destroyed. And so she makes a wish. She wants to be remembered forever. She wants what is hers.
In the Kingdom of Back, a fairy world shared by her and her brother, a lost prince offers to become Nannerl's guardian. He promises to ensure she is remembered forever. In exchange, she must help him with a series of tasks. At first, their visits to the kingdom are whimsical and fun, but as time progresses, Nannerl begins to sense sinister undertones. What will the fulfillment of her wish cost? Is it worth the price?
Thoughts
This story reminded me of [b:Fawkes|36576048|Fawkes|Nadine Brandes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513275599l/36576048._SY75_.jpg|58318394] and [b:Romanov|40590407|Romanov|Nadine Brandes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538508130l/40590407._SY75_.jpg|63034726] by Nadine Brandes. It tells a true story of history, but interweaves magical, fantasy elements. It was fascinating to learn about Mozart's forgotten, but equally talented sister. In the author notes, Marie Lu comments that she learned about Nannerl when she became curious about the girl who often appears alongside Mozart in paintings. From those paintings and further research, Lu imagined a close sibling relationship.
As someone who grew up as best friends with my younger brother, I could identify with and fully enjoy the well-portrayed relationship between this sibling pair.
Content
Overall, this book was very clean.
Language: A few times, Nannerl will explain that someone swore, but the profanity is never spelled out.
Romance: As Nannerl matures into her late teens, her attention is caught by a young man who attends one of their performances. She later agrees to exchange letters with him and hides this from her father.
Substances: None
Violence: Nannerl's father slaps her once. There is some low level fantasy action in the Kingdom of Back (example: a river serpent shot and killed and blood seen in the water afterwards).
Religion: Nannerl exists in a primarily Catholic culture, though it is not a focus of the story.
Summary
This story is narrated by Maria Anna Mozart, affectionately called Nannerl, older sister to the renown Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Nannerl is a child prodigy and musical genius in equal measure to her brother. All her life, she has used music to try to connect with her distant, authoritarian father. When her brother's genius is recognized, she feels her connection with her father slipping away. Worse, composition is considered a man's work. Nannerl longs to writer her own songs, but she knows they will never be remembered. If her father discovered them, they might even be destroyed. And so she makes a wish. She wants to be remembered forever. She wants what is hers.
In the Kingdom of Back, a fairy world shared by her and her brother, a lost prince offers to become Nannerl's guardian. He promises to ensure she is remembered forever. In exchange, she must help him with a series of tasks. At first, their visits to the kingdom are whimsical and fun, but as time progresses, Nannerl begins to sense sinister undertones. What will the fulfillment of her wish cost? Is it worth the price?
Thoughts
This story reminded me of [b:Fawkes|36576048|Fawkes|Nadine Brandes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513275599l/36576048._SY75_.jpg|58318394] and [b:Romanov|40590407|Romanov|Nadine Brandes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538508130l/40590407._SY75_.jpg|63034726] by Nadine Brandes. It tells a true story of history, but interweaves magical, fantasy elements. It was fascinating to learn about Mozart's forgotten, but equally talented sister. In the author notes, Marie Lu comments that she learned about Nannerl when she became curious about the girl who often appears alongside Mozart in paintings. From those paintings and further research, Lu imagined a close sibling relationship.
As someone who grew up as best friends with my younger brother, I could identify with and fully enjoy the well-portrayed relationship between this sibling pair.
Content
Overall, this book was very clean.
Language: A few times, Nannerl will explain that someone swore, but the profanity is never spelled out.
Romance: As Nannerl matures into her late teens, her attention is caught by a young man who attends one of their performances. She later agrees to exchange letters with him and hides this from her father.
Substances: None
Violence: Nannerl's father slaps her once. There is some low level fantasy action in the Kingdom of Back (example: a river serpent shot and killed and blood seen in the water afterwards).
Religion: Nannerl exists in a primarily Catholic culture, though it is not a focus of the story.