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A review by ishouldreadthat
The Electrical Venus by Julie Mayhew
3.0
Originally posted to I Should Read That
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
The Electrical Venus jumped out at me because it is historical young adult fiction -- something I don’t think you see very often. On top of that, the book is set in Georgian England, which is even more of a rarity in YA. Although I didn’t know much about it, I decided to give it a shot.
To be perfectly honest, this book was just not for me. The writing style, the characters, and the story are all just things that I don’t particularly enjoy in books. However, don’t let that sway you because I do think that many people will enjoy The Electrical Venus.
I really liked the fact that this is a historical novel set in an unusual time period for YA. Young adult books can get a little same-y after awhile and it’s so nice to see something fresh and new! It’s an interesting period in time and the inclusion of Doctor Fox and his electricity machine really took advantage of that in the best way. What seems very normal to us would have been a marvel to people of this time and it suited the sideshow setting very well.
I thought the narrative style was interesting, even if it didn’t work for me. There are two point of view characters in this book -- Mim and Alex. Each chapter is told as though they’re speaking to one of the animals in the sideshow’s menagerie. Mim talks to her parrot, who was came with her when Mr. Grainger bought her, while Alex talks to the pig in the menagerie. It was a little strange at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
The inclusion of Mim, a mixed race black girl, was refreshing, as some people seem to think that black people just didn’t exist at this period in time -- you rarely get to see diverse casts in historical fiction. She was an interesting character, along with Alex, but I don’t think they’re the kinds of characters I particularly like, nor had the type of romance I usually enjoy. I am a big fan of slow burning romance, which we have in this book, however I don’t like the fact that their issues could have been resolved if they just spoke to each other. The two fight and make up constantly and this just isn’t really my thing.
Overall, The Electrical Venus didn’t really click with me. It’s a hard book to review for that exact reason. However, if you’re looking for books that deal with sex, young romance, or falling for the wrong person, this is a great title to pick up. I think it’s unusual historical setting is very appealing and it’s a fast read.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
The Electrical Venus jumped out at me because it is historical young adult fiction -- something I don’t think you see very often. On top of that, the book is set in Georgian England, which is even more of a rarity in YA. Although I didn’t know much about it, I decided to give it a shot.
To be perfectly honest, this book was just not for me. The writing style, the characters, and the story are all just things that I don’t particularly enjoy in books. However, don’t let that sway you because I do think that many people will enjoy The Electrical Venus.
I really liked the fact that this is a historical novel set in an unusual time period for YA. Young adult books can get a little same-y after awhile and it’s so nice to see something fresh and new! It’s an interesting period in time and the inclusion of Doctor Fox and his electricity machine really took advantage of that in the best way. What seems very normal to us would have been a marvel to people of this time and it suited the sideshow setting very well.
I thought the narrative style was interesting, even if it didn’t work for me. There are two point of view characters in this book -- Mim and Alex. Each chapter is told as though they’re speaking to one of the animals in the sideshow’s menagerie. Mim talks to her parrot, who was came with her when Mr. Grainger bought her, while Alex talks to the pig in the menagerie. It was a little strange at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
The inclusion of Mim, a mixed race black girl, was refreshing, as some people seem to think that black people just didn’t exist at this period in time -- you rarely get to see diverse casts in historical fiction. She was an interesting character, along with Alex, but I don’t think they’re the kinds of characters I particularly like, nor had the type of romance I usually enjoy. I am a big fan of slow burning romance, which we have in this book, however I don’t like the fact that their issues could have been resolved if they just spoke to each other. The two fight and make up constantly and this just isn’t really my thing.
Overall, The Electrical Venus didn’t really click with me. It’s a hard book to review for that exact reason. However, if you’re looking for books that deal with sex, young romance, or falling for the wrong person, this is a great title to pick up. I think it’s unusual historical setting is very appealing and it’s a fast read.