Rebel Daughter is marketed as a YA book but honestly, the graphic brutality and themes explored in RD can appeal to any demographic. Rebel Daughter was a great read to launch back into my one true love, historical fiction.

Esther is a character that I couldn't love, wanted to but couldn't. She's childish and selfish however she's also complicated and resilient. Taking into account her age at the start of the book (13-14) it's easy to see her growth through the story (as it takes place over a span of 6-7 years). I enjoyed the setting and the historical narrative more than anything else throughout Rebel Daughter . The lengths Esther would go through to help her family was tear-jerking and I felt her pain and emotion everything something went awry. I have not read any books on the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple so I was quite enthralled with the description of it all. A lot of research obviously went into Rebel Daughter . The fact that this was based on a true free Jewish women makes it even more interesting, though I was saddened to learn that the woman did not live past her mid-twenties. I wanted to know that she lived a long happy life.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the free review.