advanced review copy | Ad Librum Aeternam

by Aden Polydoros

Genre: Historical fiction, Fantasy, YA
Number of pages: 336
ISBN: 9781335458032

ASIN: 1335458034

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook (Audible, Kobo, CD), eBook (Kobo, Kindle, Nook)
Publication date: October 10, 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins, Inkyard Press
Type: Book, Novel, Standalone

Huge thanks to Harper Collins Canada and Inkyard Press for a physical ARC of this book. I offer this review willingly and without any compensation whatsoever.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A BIT OF SPOILERS, NOT MANY, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW.

I have to be honest, the striking cover with the girl’s fierce expression and the Hebrew writing got me interested in this book. Then, I saw the title and got excited—sounded totally up my alley! I read the blurb and I just fell for it. I had to read this gem! And so, I requested it from Harper Collins Canada and I’ve been honoured to have it granted to me as a paperback galley!

But what do I think of this book?

Well, for starters, I just loved it and I will never forget it. Vera and Akiva are dear to me, they’re seared into my heart. The book will sit high on my bookshelves, and I will look upon it with affection and satisfaction.

Also, honestly, this is the most humane fantasy story I have read in a long time.

Care to discover how so?

Keep reading, loves!

The Positive Points

Underneath the surface of this book is a coming of age story about identity, your place in the world, figuring out who you truly are and what you value versus the opinions of others, and how you choose to go about it. All told from the point of view of a golem girl made of a dead girl’s body parts and clay. It’s as surprising as poignant as it sounds (and even more when you read it!) Vera’s reflections on on life, death, pain, happiness, and what it means to be human are touching, poignant, and relatable (although she is a golem, but it is indeed an interesting vessel for these reflections.) The story revolves around the concepts of monster and man, who’s the monster and who is the man (or woman here) in that war? It reminds me of Clopin singing “Who’s the monster and who is the man?” in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Disney.

The great friendship and companionship between Vera and Akiva is sweet and comforting. They have a cute, bittersweet companionship. And their banter is fun; it’s genuine, like Vera describes it. Vera’s attraction and affection for Akiva seems forbidden, due to the nature of her creation, yet it’s what she wants as well as Chaya, but as herself. Golems have wants too. I was suffering reading their moments together because shipping them feels forbidden, like a transgression somehow, but they’re so cute. And believe me, there will be many surprises with their relationship! You’re in for a jolly good ride with them; several tears, groans, smiles, and one joyful shriek (at least that’s how it went for me). Moreover, Vera’s confrontation with Akiva learning the truth about her being a golem is so sad and rife with angst. But I love how she still tries to claim her right on her body parts and life, although it does seem weak, poor doll. I was so shocked, but glad in the end because Akiva’s always been that good guy, I know. 🙂

Also, I looooved meeting their enemies and friends; mostly their friends, like a kind girl named Miriam, and Gulzifa (you’ll see). There were several plot twists along the reading, two of which I hadn’t seen coming, so kudos there. It was both incredibly sweet AND heart-wrenching. And Omfg, meeting the Nazi they’re after was such a surprise! Mostly in the how it’s done! Plus, It’s so f*** true how appearances can be deceiving; how monsters can hide in plain sight and look innocent. Yet the true innocent are persecuted and viewed as monsters.

I particularly noticed a “polyglot moment”. I saw that in some scenes where Vera struggled with which word to utter in what context, yet they all surged in her mind for her to use in all the languages she knows. It feels exactly like that as a polyglot, ha! (I’d know because I’m one.)

One thing that is very important in Wrath Becomes Her is how Vera wants so much to be loved. As herself. Don’t we all? Plus, the imagery to describe her emotions is often interesting because the author uses words related to water, rocks, and rivers, and so on (where she comes from). She doesn’t understand death, and is always trying to grasp its concept, just as life, yet her descriptions are striking.

At some point, Vera has to fight some clay or creatures like her. she doesn’t want to do it, yet she has to. This is just like some did to survive, they had to kill the enemy to breathe air for one more day… Like in the concentration camps and out of them during the war. It was a good mirror moment.

I must say the last chapters are quite dark and horror-like, which is beautiful and fitting to this novel. And they’re quite exciting, with thrilling action!

As for another character, Ezra, he’s such a complex yet angsty character. We don’t like him right away, but we can understand his motives. But in the end, it’s lovely and he’s thoughtful. That took me by surprise, even though I’d hoped for something similar from him. Finally, he accepts his “creation”. We get to we see what acceptant and love can do. In addition to that, I love how their creators (Ezra being Vera’s) give the Golems traits and purposes; like Vera got rage, emotions, curiosity, and empathy.

According to theories and beliefs explained here and there in the book, it seems Vera does have a soul of some kind. So sweet! It’s about the Luz bone (where the soul resides) and reincarnation, interesting! Also, Vera goes from being seen and feeling like a monster, to being seen as and acting like a protector. That transformation of perspective and reactions is amazing and touching. It pulls my heart out but replaces it a bit better, too. This book explores death, grief, life, happiness, survival, injustice, love, and fear. It’s beautiful and heart-wrenching, yet it aims so true. It’s human, and it’s beautiful, in all its messiness.

And awwww, wow, a lovely, fitting ending!!! Such a twist! I’M LOVING IT! I was somehow hoping for it, yearning for it, but I thought it was too… dark for a young adult book, but hey, the author surprised me greatly! Dang, I just adored that!!! The perfect ending for Wrath Becomes Her in my opinion!!! I will never forget it, it left its mark on me, haha.

The Negative Points

The only negative point is that sometimes the author would repeat words and phrases a few times in the same page, it’s slightly annoying but it doesn’t happen too often. Yet it’s not worth taking away a star for this!

In Conclusion

All in all, Wrath Becomes Her is also about how to make a difference in the world, in something seemingly insurmountable, and it’s positive, it’s about helping people, which I adored. This is honestly the most humane fantasy story I have read in a long time. For all these reasons of positivity and humane feelings, I give Wrath Becomes Her a solid, unbreakable rating of 5 stars out of 5.

If you want to learn more about the author, Aden Polydoros, you can visit his website, his Goodreads Author page, or his HarperCollins' Author Page. You can also connect with him on Instagram! Don't forget to add Wrath Becomes Her to your wishlist or your cart as well as your bookshelves!

By Jo Sarzotti

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 59

ISBN: 9781625570017

Format: Paperback

Publication date: 2019

Publisher: Black Lawrence Press

Type: Book, Poetry Collection

*I received a free paperback copy in exchange for an honest review. No compensation has been given and I write this book review willingly. A big thanks to Black Lawrence Press and Diane Goettel!*

Introduction

This book was recommended to me on Goodreads by none other than… the publisher! Yes, Black Lawrence Press added me as a friend, followed my reviews and sent me this recommendation. I couldn’t help adding Waiting for Achilles to my “Want to read” list and, desperate for a review copy of this poetry collection, I contacted them. Graciously, they granted me a copy. I’m so thrilled to have read this raw, moving and mythical-inspired poetry book!

So, not only is the cover gorgeous and quite relevant to the topics explored, the book is entertaining and deep with meaning.

Let’s delve into it together, shall we?

Blurb

A beautiful poetry collection inspired by many truths of life such as death, heartbreaks, joys, as well as Greek mythology. The theme of horses is a current that helps tie the poems together all while exploring different sides to reality and the fine line between myth and dreams and life.

The Positive Sides

I liked the continuous theme of horses, mostly black ones, throughout the poems. It felt unifying and helped put the poems in motion and dig into their meanings. It also felt like Ariadne’s string in Greek mythology.

The poem that stood out the most to me is “Abduction by a God”, which retells the story of Perspephone being abducted by Hades. Not only is it my favourite mythological story (yeah, I know, weird), the words chosen, the images depicted, and the rhythm just got to me. “Hospital Mind” is another one that got under my skin, but because of its sadness I can relate to as someone who spends a good chunk of my life in hospitals due to serious health issues. The emotions, feelings and descriptions are accurate and echo in me. “Fear of Drowning” is dark and angsty, heart-breaking because we’ve all been there too, with a broken heart, no matter its type. “Woman in Space” is entracing, beautiful, and speaks of feminism to me—or a lack of it. As for “Norse Mythology”, I rather enjoyed the Trickster (Loki), the Ourobouros, and the vikings. It made me grin and nod with approval, which is a good reaction to a poem. Lastly, “The Shoemaker’s Wife” describes the way we care about doing our duty, whatever it may be like the shoemaker’s wife (to be clear, I’m talking about picking up shoemaking herself), and how we have to cross boundaries to do it and succeed.

Of course, there are several interesting poems other than these I mentioned, but I figured sharing my experience was a good way to make you feel them, too. A bit, at least. The last positive point I’ll bring up is how loosely connected these poems sound to one another. It’s a tenuous strong, linking them all, but it’s there. And I think it’s amazing to see this subtle connection at play.

The Negative Sides

While all the poems are interconnected, forming an ensemble, the words and meanings are often separated and hard to grasp. It’s almost like they’re unrelated for the most part. I understand the free nature of poetry, as I write some myself, but this goes beyond seamless connections and transitions.

In Conclusion

For the sheer enjoyment I had reading this poetry collection (and look at that gorgeous cover!) as well as the difficulty of grasping a few of them, I give Waiting for Achilles a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. I plan on re-reading it down the road of my life and choose to keep it in my personal library. It’s a nice addition, deep, sometimes dark, always honest. I enjoyed the ride on Achilles’s black horse and gladly recommend this poetry collection to poetry readers, poets, mythology lovers, Greek world lovers, and those looking for diverse poems about other things than simply heartbreaks and love matters that seem to plague a lot of our contemporary poetry.

If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit her page on Black Lawrence Press's Web site. You can also add Waiting for Achilles to your bookshelves on Goodreads and LibraryThing.