The Kingdom of Back by Marie LuMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Let's try a little something different from Marie Lu, one that's definitely not sci-fi but still gets speculative with a Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane kind of story. To read the author's note, though, and see that this was Lu's first attempt at writing, and the story that got her her agent, it's very nice to see the seeds of where she began her career. And while this book may not have made her name the way Legend did in 2011, 2020 would be an even better year for The Kingdom of Back, that fantasy kingdom invented by Nannerl Mozart, sister of Wolfgang (or Woferl, as she calls him.) I kinda get a few vibes of S. Jae-Jones' Wintersong duology as well, but less reliant on romance because of its emphasis instead on a unique sibling bond. Given how well Lu's written sibling bonds before - just look at Day and Eden - it's no surprise that Nannerl and Woferl prove to be such close children, two sides of one coin. And yet, chances are you probably didn't know Nannerl existed until you read this book. God knows I didn't, which is a shame - and precisely Lu's point. It's for sure an unusual work from this author, and yet it still makes all the sense that Lu was the one who gifted us with it.
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