Nice review for Daughter of War

Quill & Quire gave Daughter of War a lovely review, which is now available online here.

Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.

10 thoughts on “Nice review for Daughter of War”

  1. Great! I would agree with most of what they said, except for the “history lesson” part. It was a dramatic story set in a dramatic time that few know about — that little-known aspect is part of its appeal.

    1. Thanks, Karen!

      It would have been difficult to convey the story without the historical context, but I’ve noticed with Q&Q that it’s almost a requirement to have a negative line or two, so I take it with a grain of salt.

      1. I think a lot of reviewers feel that way, that they have to point out something negative. When my first review came out, I saw the first line and groaned. But a friend slapped me (in a cyber sort of way) and pointed out all the positive words in the review. It’s helped with the ones that followed to remind myself to look for those good words.

        1. I’ve had some downright vindictive reviews, so in comparison, this one is lovely. One must always take reviews (good and bad) with a grain of salt. This one goes down with sugar and salt.

          2. It often comes from people who review a book of yours after you’ve reviewed one of theirs. One must take all of this in stride.

            When my first novel, The Hunger, came out, the local newspaper asked a local librarian to review it. The headline on that review read “Local author’s first novel fails”. I was devastated, as you can imagine. I ran into the librarian a few weeks after. I didn’t complain about the review, didn’t even mention it, but she snickered and said, “I got YOU good with that review, didn’t I?” How can you take a reviewer like that seriously? She was never asked to do another review.

            My philosophy is that with a local newspaper, I highlight the books I love and don’t review the books I dislike.

          3. That is horrifyingly unprofessional. Ugh. The newspaper editor must have been quite appalled by that attitude.

            My friend, a YA librarian, told me that Booklist takes the same approach as you (which made me even more thrilled that they reviewed my book). I think yours is a good approach. There are so many good books out there; why not highlight them instead of tearing down ones you don’t like?

          4. The newspaper editor was appalled, thank goodness.

            Before I was writing books, I was the regular children’s book reviewer for our local paper and I only reviewed books that I loved. The one exception were books by famous people. I figured if Madonna or Margaret Atwood wrote an abysmal children’s book, it was my duty to point it out.

          5. I saw one book by Margaret Atwood. Actually, I think my library has it (though I can’t recall the last time it went out). At least she’s a writer. All those celebrities who get books published … just because they’re celebrities … are annoying. My library does not have any of their books. Yes, I am prejudiced. No, I’m not sorry. 😉

          6. Yes, Margaret Atwood is a writer but she’s not a kids’ writer. Her kids’ books are really meant to entertain adults. I hate celebrity kids’ books too. Thank goodness we live in Canada, where there are fewer of them.

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