I think ten years ago, I would have really loved this book. It's exactly the kind of thing I would have devoured and adored when I was in the 12-15 age range, which I think is what this book is geared toward. I went in expecting a little older YA since the main character is 17, but that was my mistake and not an issue with the book at all. It was just a little young for my tastes which did impact my overall enjoyment. If you regularly read the younger YA range, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this.

Honestly my biggest complaint is with the synopsis. I have an ARC of this book so I did double check that the synopsis on the final copy is the same (it is). I found the synopsis kind of misleading.
I expect synopses to cover the general premise of the book and be a starting off point for the story, so the meat of the book starts where the synopsis ends. But this one is literally just a summary of the book. The entire book. The only thing left out is the last 40 pages and the epilogue. The two Nazis mentioned in the synopsis don't show up until after the 300 page mark (in my 377 page edition). It probably would have been a more enjoyable experience if I'd stopped after the first paragraph of the synopsis and got to see the rest of the story unfold in the book itself.

I also found it a little too fast paced. In the author's note, Cameron makes a joke about how she had to cut things out or it would have been a thousand page manuscript, and I kind of felt that while reading the book. It feels like there's too much crammed in for the length of this story. It's definitely enough to give you a full picture of Stefania's life and experiences during the war, but it feels like skim reading her life. I just wanted a little more.

I did quite enjoy this, though. A little bit more time and I'd have gotten through this book in a day because I was always excited to pick it up and always wanting more of Stefania's story. It was such a solid book and so gripping. I love when something grabs me immediately from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end.

I think my favorite part was the epilogue. Stefania Podgorska was a real person and this is her real story. Cameron stuck very closely to the real events of her life during the war, and you can tell. I think sometimes that did work to the book's detriment since real life doesn't always unfold in a fiction friendly way, but for the most part I really loved it. Her discussion at the end of the real Stefania and what happened to the Jewish people she hid after the war had me tearing up.

This only barely missed hitting 4 stars for me. I'll be passing on my copy because I do think that some people will really adore it and it's a really worthwhile read if it sounds interesting to you and if you're someone who likes younger YA literature. I really liked it, but this is a book I would have loved at 13.

Reread 3/13/2020

Jim Dale's audiobook is still a bit hit or miss for me, but I think the longer I listen to it, the more his voices sound right to me. I'm still not a fan of Hermione's voice, but his Remus sounded pretty close to David Thewlis and I really enjoyed the way he did Sirius. I think it just takes some getting used to, but this book is still my favorite in the series.

***

This is my favorite of the series and it holds up so much. This book had an intensity for me that the first two lacked, and even that the ones after it lack. The story seems more full, and perhaps that's because it doesn't focus on Voldemort as the villain, but I think it's because it focuses so much on Harry's past. I love learning about his parents' generation and meeting the Marauders. But even the Quidditch scenes were exciting, and they can be a bit tedious in the other books at times.

I don't know what I expected going into this reread, but this book turned out to be my favorite of the whole series. This was a bit surprising since I don't have any particular memories about this book and Daja herself has never been my first choice (I'm a bit partial to Sandry's narration), but both of her books in the first two quartets were my favorites.

I think this book was just more well crafted than the other three. The friendships Daja made grew and developed throughout the story better than the new characters in any of the other three books. I really cared for her students and Ben, and I'm always partial to Frostpine. I also enjoyed the mystery/crime element. It exists to a degree in all these books, but I think it was explored best here. You know from the beginning who the arsonist is, but it doesn't affect the intrigue.

I liked the setting. The others have been set in different countries and cultures as well, but I felt like both Briar's and Tris's books were a little bit othering in regards to the natives of those countries. It felt like there was a fair amount of criticism from an outsider. In this book, there was none of that. Daja didn't necessarily agree with everything in the culture, but it seemed much better handled and explored. It didn't seem nearly as othering.

Just overall, I enjoyed this book so much more than any of the others and I'm very grateful to have a book in this series that I loved.

I was a little torn between three and four stars on this book, but decided to go with the lower rating.

I had a lot of fun with the story overall. It grabbed me easily and I never had to push myself to finish. I was just excited to pick it up and read, which seems like a small thing but I haven't felt that way about many of the other books in the first two quartets. I liked Tris's student as well. I think it's an interesting relationship to explore, a student who's so much older than their teacher.

I also quite enjoyed the mystery/crime element. This is the only book in the series where you don't know who's committing the crime or why, and I found myself quite intrigued because I didn't remember. It doesn't really matter, the main focus is much more on the high fantasy magic elements, but I still think as a side story it's quite well done.

What I had an issue with was the culture Tris is visiting. She's traveled far south to a different country with very different customs and this book is heavy on othering people of that country. It's possible to critique the customs of a place without othering the people as whole, like what was done with Daja's book, but it didn't succeed here. Instead it fell more into the category of white savior trope, and this isn't the only one of Pierce's books that feels that way to me.

But I did still like this one, and it's probably my second favorite of this quartet. At least it didn't drag like the first two books did. It's left me very excited to get to The Will of the Empress, which is by far my favorite.

I was immediately drawn to this book. I had a hunch from the moment I saw it that it would be perfect for me, and I was right. I've never read an ebook before, but it was the only way I could access this book (with the library's physical locations currently closed) and it was so worth it. I flew through this in one night and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Two critiques that kept this at four stars for me. The first was the politics. It felt very shallow and overly simplified. I've read contemporaries, even YA contemporaries, that deal with politics and handle it better than this. Kate's father is a republican but her views align closer to the democratic party, so that does generate a lot of conflict, and I was quite interested in the conflict. But it seems much too easy, almost drawn in black and white. On one issue that Kate disagrees with her father, she drags him out to listen to people and hear their side of the issue. Upon listening to them for like an hour, he changes his mind almost completely and deviates from all his prior policy. I don't believe for one second that a career politician who's running for president, regardless of his party or policy, is ignorant enough to be change his entire position on an issue based on one individual's sob story. He has people talk at him all day every day and I can't believe no one had ever told him a sob story before. That was one big moment, but it happened in smaller ways throughout the book too. I just wish it had been handled with more depth and nuance.

My other issue was that it seemed like the book was very focused on the plot. Everything that happened was directly related to the plot of the story, which kind of leaves a lot of emptiness in the world building. It definitely improved throughout the book, but there was a while it felt kind of bare bones and I just wanted more, more of this world and these people and their lives. Having everything directly related to just the plot makes it feel too linear and less believable, and I think Thorne could've taken a little more time to explore.

But I loved this. I devoured this in one night and it was pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be. I love stories that focus on kids in politics, and the way having parental figures in politics impacts a kid's behavior outside of just the policy. The way they dress and act and talk is all monitored. The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White is one of my favorite books and I think that's why I was so excited to pick this up. It's a very different story, but this one explored a lot of the elements I love about White's book too. It's hard for kids in the spotlight, especially kids who aren't used to. I love seeing the learning process of dealing with the press.

I also liked the relationship between Kate and her stepmother. I think it so easily could have been negative in order to write most of the adults out of her life, but instead Thorne went a much more interesting route and so much of this book is actually about Kate and Meg's relationship. It's awkward and hesitant and neither of them know exactly what relationship they want or should have, but it's so heartfelt and touching.

The last third of this book had me tearing up. Maybe it's because I'd been staring at my phone screen for four hours and it was 3am, but I think it had to do with all of Kate's pain and everything in her life coming to a head. It was great.

Just overall a really great, really fun book. I had a blast reading it and would recommend to people who are interested in teenagers who have to deal with being in the political sphere and parent-child relationships. This was one of those books that I'm not sure will stick with me for a long time, but I'm so glad I picked it up because this is my reading comfort zone and it was perfect for my mood.

I didn't dislike this book, but it was pretty close to a two. It may have actually been a two if I wasn't in just the right mood for a high school drama. I do like Siobhan Vivian, but I don't think this is her best work. I kept thinking there was going to be something more to this story, something different, something beneath the surface, but it was just pretty generic. There's a list of the prettiest and ugliest girl in each grade. Some have good experiences with it, most bad. Then it ends. Very abruptly too. I was reading this on ebook and flipped to the next page not realizing the book had ended.

It almost felt like she was going for social commentary then forgot to add the commentary. I was expecting something, even a heavy handed message, but it seemed a bit lacking. I picked up this book because I'd always been curious as to what it was like beyond the basic premise, but I didn't come up with a whole lot more. It was just kind of par for the course. Being pretty isn't all its cracked up to be. Ugly is a social construct that doesn't mean anything. Love yourself. Looks don't determine your self worth. Etc etc.

My biggest issue was that there were so many characters. Eight different girls narrate, two from each grade to represent the prettiest and ugliest, and that's a lot. By the time I remembered everyone and what their story was, it felt like the book was winding down. It's about 300 pages, but divided by eight means each narrator only gets about 40 pages of screen time. It definitely felt like a number of them were throwaway characters who only existed because the premise demanded it. Each individual story felt so brief that it was almost a little like an after school special. There just wasn't time for much depth.

That being said, there were a few characters whose story I was interested in. Abby and Danielle I was always kind of happy to see, and even Laura to a degree. But three out of eight isn't fantastic odds and I liked Danielle's story despite how painfully generic it was.

I don't know. It wasn't bad and Vivian is definitely a good writer, but there just wasn't much about this book that grabbed me. If you're intensely curious about the premise like I was, then sure go ahead. It kind of felt like a waste of time, but not necessarily in a bad way. I'm reading a lot of YA contemporaries very quickly right now and I was okay with this being one of them.

I wanted to love this because I really do quite like Sara Zarr, but it wasn't the book for me. I feel weird reviewing it even because the main reason was just that I didn't like the story. The characters were well crafted, the setting incredible, Zarr's writing style great as always, but it literally just came down to the story.

The teenage main character finds a bag of money and takes it with her sister, then they proceed to have a variety of adventures. (It's done in a much more realistic way than it sounds, but that's the general gist.) That whole premise just makes me really uncomfortable. There's a whole worry throughout the book that they'll lose the money or get taken advantage of, and that rubbed my anxiety the wrong way. My fault for going into a book without reading literally a single word of description.

I did enjoy quite a few of the other aspects of the story, though. Zarr has a wonderful way of crafting these really quiet, down to earth stories about people who feel real, and the reader just gets to experience their lives. A lot of the book focuses on Gem's home situation and how she's neglected. I really enjoyed Gem as a character.

I don't have too much to say on this one. I think if you like low key contemporaries that sound like this, it might be worthwhile. There's nothing I felt that was poorly done, it just wasn't for me.

It took me just a night to read this book, and I think that's a testament to how enjoyable it is. This is just one of those really good, really solid books that I'm not sure many people would find big issues with (unless they're not up to a lot of graphic discussion on sexual assault).

I felt like it lacked tension. This whole book is about sexual assault- her twin is accused of rape by her close friend, Mara deals with her own past experience- but I didn't feel tense while reading it. I didn't feel what Mara ought to have been feeling. And I wanted to. It felt like there was a little piece missing because of that.

I also found this a little predictable. It's not that I necessarily care if I know exactly where a story is going, but it often goes hand in hand with a generic story line. And this book did feel quite generic. You knew from the very beginning who Mara was going to believe, despite all the angst about it. You knew what was going to happen with her relationship with Charlie. You knew how her own history was going to be resolved. And it did feel kind of like I was just waiting for it to happen and waiting to get to the real point.

But I did overall like it. I wish less time had been spent on the romance between Mara and Charlie because it didn't have much of an impact on the rest of the more interesting story, but beyond that, I really did enjoy reading this. I liked seeing Mara's suffering and the way it was handled in the story. I really enjoyed her conflict with her parents. I don't think this is a spectacular book by any means, but I am quite glad that I finally picked it up because it was worth the read.

Reread 3/30/20

Still enjoy Jim Dale's narration okay, but this will never be my favorite book in the series. The tournament always drags for me and I feel like I'm waiting to get to the important stuff rather than invested the whole time.

***

I expected this book to be four stars for me, and I think it was back in the day as well. I find that books written around performing necessary tasks (bucket lists, scavenger hunts, the Triwizard tournament) feel formulaic to me. The pacing feels forced and it doesn't flow as naturally. But, these critiques are relative. I gave this book 4 stars because I love it, as I love ever Harry Potter book. But I do think this book would probably rank as my least favorite of the series (again, a very relative statement).

The more I read of Sara Zarr, the more I think her books are mostly just okay. I'm not sure if she just chooses topics I don't particularly like, or if the first two books of hers that I read (Story of a Girl, Roomies) were the best. But this book was just kind of okay to me.

I found both narrators to be kind of annoying. Not unlikeable in any interesting way, just kind of annoying to read. I didn't enjoy either of their perspectives. Mandy felt almost like a caricature, just so completely surface level even when it didn't make sense for her character. And Jill was a ball of rage with a heart of gold. I wasn't invested in either of their outcomes.

The ending also felt like the ultimate cliche. There was one single way for everything to be wrapped up neatly and perfectly, and that's exactly where this story went. I don't mind a good happy ending, but it has to feel earned and this one just seemed tacked on as a way to resolve the story without actually dealing with any of the issues.

It also seemed absolutely absurd to me that these characters are going through the whole process of adoption with no paperwork and people are just like cool with that. No social workers involved, no lawyers, nothing signed. The pregnant teenager and 52 year old widow just met online and said hey let's do this. It seems like an incredibly sketchy situation and ridiculous that their doctor and friends think it's normal.

But I didn't dislike this book. It was okay. I really liked Ravi as a character and Jill's romance with him. It was a nice escape from the rest of the story and so well written. I loved the way both characters related to each other and how they remembered the other from high school. I also enjoyed the setting. I've said this before and I'll say it again, but no one writes a setting like Sara Zarr. She captures San Francisco spectacularly.

And the actual writing itself is so good. I love Zarr's writing style, just apparently not coming from these two narrators. I'm still continuing my read through of all her books and I'm hoping the last couple start to look up. Otherwise I'll just have to reread Story of a Girl to remind myself how good Zarr can be. You would probably enjoy this a lot more than me if the adoption plot line sounds like your kind of thing, but it definitely wasn't for me.