"The Kingdom of Back" by Marie Lu

The Kingdom of Back (Mar. 3, 2020) by Marie Lu.

Everyone is familiar with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (affectionately called Woferl), but this is not his story. It is hers. Maria Anna Mozart, usually called Nannerl. She’s the elder Mozart. The big sister who should shine as brightly as her little brother, but for the fact that she’s female in a male-dominated world (this is the 18^th century, after all). This does not stop her from her desire to compose music for all to hear and is masterful in playing the clavier (harpsichord), but she’ll only perform until she’s of a marriageable age, according to her strict and often tyrannical father. As is known, Woferl shines brightly from a young age; he’s clearly a prodigy. His brilliance eclipses Nannerl’s swiftly and with such ease, and she struggles with jealousy. People will remember him, but what about her? The Mozart family’s tours are long and often take a toll on the young Mozarts, especially on Woferl’s health. Strangely, his downturns in health seem to coincide with a handsome, mysterious stranger from a land of their own stories. A forest surrounds a kingdom, but the trees grow upside down (this is the Kingdom of Back, for it can seem backwards). It is a magical place, intriguing to explore and fantastical, and they even outwit a witch. The stranger, Hyacinth, says he can help Nannerl if she’ll help him. But at what cost?

            From what I’ve read from Marie Lu, “The Kingdom of Back” is her first foray into the world of historical fiction. Historical fantasy. Lu’s YA novel is a clever composition of history, magic and world-building. Whether at home in Austria, somewhere in Europe on a grand tour or visiting Back, Lu blends each setting to segue without hitting the wrong note. That isn’t to say it’s a perfectly comprised concerto. Despite reading the book fairly quickly, there remained something slow about reading it compared to the colorful excitement of the Warcross duology or the action of the Legend series. While I appreciated the historical element, I was less impressed by Hyacinth and Back as a whole. That part felt a bit generic, I’m disappointed to admit. Still, the love/rivalry of the Mozart siblings is emotional and compelling, especially when Nannerl opens her eyes to the Faustian mess she’s gotten herself into. I may not have loved this story, but there is music in it. Can you hear it?

"These Nameless Things" by Shawn Smucker

These Nameless Things (June 30, 2020) by Shawn Smucker.*

There is a village. It is the first village a survivor would come across after battling the captivity and torture of the western mountain. There used to be many who made their way out of the mountain, but there haven’t been any in a long time. There are only nine in the village: Dan, Abe, Miho, Miss B, Mary, John, Circe, Po and Misha. But Mary is leaving. She is heading east, past all of the trees and over the eastern mountain. But Dan is waiting. Waiting for Adam, his brother. A mysterious, wounded survivor comes during a downpour, and Dan houses her in his home, the first one a survivor would come across after exiting the canyon leading to the western mountain. He knows he should tell Abe about her, but he does not, instead pocketing the key he finds, which the newest survivor seems worried about having lost. Then someone comes to their village … returns from the east. No one who’s gone east has ever returned. She’s young and goes by Lucia. She doesn’t talk. Who is she looking for? She looks at Dan, almost with familiarity, but seems to find him lacking. Watching Mary leave and as more days pass without Adam, Dan struggles. He wants to cling to the village to await his brother, but villagers’ memories are awakening of their lives before their captivity, and those memories don’t show Adam in a good light. It turns out the villagers are waiting for Dan’s brother.

            As I’ve never read Dante’s “Inferno,” I expect I’ve missed much of the symbolism that is present in this story. However, I typically enjoy stories within the magical realism genre. I appreciated the very real struggle of Dan, but overall, unfortunately, I did not feel invested in the story. It could be due to my lack of familiarity with Dante’s work, but I suspect it’s just that this story did not resonate with me. It did have a bit of the “Lost” TV show feel to it, which I liked. The melancholy tone of the book was powerful and showcases how difficult a road it often is to live in grace, know how to forgive, admit guilt and come out the other side all the stronger for it. And in a better place than before.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"The Heart of a Hero" by Susan May Warren

The Heart of a Hero (June 2, 2020) by Susan May Warren.*

Nightmares disrupt Jake Silver’s nights. There, he’s the devil; he destroys lives. Those nightmares stem from his time as a Navy SEAL sniper, but the skills he gained in the SEALs well-equips him on the rescue team for Jones Inc. On that team, he saves lives, like the life of pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Aria Sinclair. He saved her and her friends on Denali. A relationship between the two looked promising, then something changed. Aria ran. But, as it were, they both live in Minneapolis and have mutual friends. Aria is a leading pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, but it’s soon after Denali. Aria’s still healing more than physically, but she did the surgery, convincing herself no one else knew the procedure, letting arrogance take over. The surgery worked, until it didn’t. The newborn did not make it. Her boss sends her on a working vacation to Key West, but it isn’t until she’s there that she learns in a big way that a Cat 4 hurricane is coming. Jake takes the impulsive route and heads to Florida to find Aria during Hurricane Lucy. Aria has taken refuge in an evacuated hospital to tend to Mimi, who has COPD, and Mimi’s granddaughter, Yola, is with her. Jake arrives with a young woman who’s eight months pregnant and whose boyfriend has just left her. They’ll weather the elements together. And it isn’t only the weather that will be the threat. Escaped convicts from the Key West Detention Center are roaming the island. Is help on the way?

            Warren’s characters in Book Two of the Global Search and Rescue series are tested in faith, fortitude and forgiveness through trials of guilt, stressful situations and self-loathing in a story that’s a tsunami of action, a maelstrom of movement. The two main characters must also mountain-climb their way through unresolved issues surrounding their supposed not-a-relationship. This is the first story I’ve read from Warren, and I was hooked at the first mentions of SPAM (that museum is within an easy driving distance for me) and references to M*A*S*H (love that show). The author has definitely gained a new fan in me through this high-action, contemporary romance, inspirational fiction novel. The characters in the story are grounded in faith no matter the disaster, and I hope and pray that anyone reading this is, too.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"Call Down the Hawk" by Maggie Stiefvater

Call Down the Hawk (Nov. 5, 2019) by Maggie Stiefvater.

These are the Lynch brothers three: Declan (boring and forgettable, except for his shoes), Ronan (the dreamer) and Matthew (the dreamed). Ronan’s waking dream is to be with his boyfriend, Harvard student Adam Parrish, but his sleep-filled dreams won’t allow that (double-sided murder crabs are not delightful). And even without his proclivity for bringing objects back upon waking that might be murderous or plain inexplicable, there’s the nightwash to deal with. Mysterious, unseen fellow dreamer Bryde visits Ronan’s dreamspace and presents him with challenges. One involves saving Jordan Hennessy (goes by Hennessy) and, in turn, her copies. Hennessy is clearly a dreamer, though neither she nor Jordan (the first) nor any of her other copies has ever met another dreamer. Hennessy only sleeps in 20-minute bursts to try to keep herself and therefore the rest of her doppelgängers alive a little while longer. Something sentient in her dreams demands release, and it will eventually kill her, she believes. Then there is Carmen Farooq-Lane. Her brother was a dreamer, and she watched as another killed him (they weren’t careful, for the trees were watching). Carmen is part of a secret, government-backed organization that hunts Zeds (a.k.a. dreamers). Carmen is a Moderator, and they are aided by Visionaries. The thing about Visionaries is, if they don’t learn to channel their powers inward, they will kill anything living within a 15-foot radius. The switch-off is that they’d instead be killing themselves in the end. But they are working to prevent a prophesized apocalypse. There will be fire. As for the dreamers, they can’t stop the dreams; the best they can do is attempt to control them and avoid being killed.

            The first in The Dreamer Trilogy is like chaos manifested, not in a disorganized manner, but in an imaginative, adventurous, artfully busy way. I’ve known the Lynch brothers since The Raven Cycle and felt invested in this story as soon as I’d heard of its publication date. Stiefvater does not disappoint with her complicated, fully-fleshed-out characters with their tragedy, romance, magic and surreal reality. The characters are complemented by the YA novel’s provoking and dramatic plot and the excellent world-building. This fantasy novel is exceptional, and I expect the trilogy to be epic. “Call Down the Hawk” is accessible to those who haven’t first read The Raven Cycle tetralogy, but I’d recommend reading it first.