About the Book
-
Author:
- Sally Nicholls
- Genre:
- Historical Fiction
Cover Story: Totes Acceptable
BFF Charm: Yay?
Talky Talk: Historically Accurate
Bonus Factors: Very Superstitious, The Black Death
Relationship Status: A Trip to the Museum
Cover Story: Totes Acceptable
I picked this book up at the W.H. Smith* in Wimbledon (what up, England!) and picked it primarily because I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my future sister- and brother-in-law. (My boyfriend, on the other hand, is used to me reading books with terrible covers.) Anyway, I think I succeeded with this book! It’s certainly a book that you can read on the train while still looking good, and the scythe hints nicely at the horrors within.
*Where I also purchased The Fault in Our Stars for my future sister-in-law, because nothing says “welcome me to your family” quite like “read this book about kids with cancer.”
The Deal:
It’s 1349 and the Black Death has been knock-knock-knocking on England’s door. At first, the adults in Isabel’s small village outside York are confident that the Plague is only going to kill the French – after all, plagues are God’s punishment for the wicked, and everyone knows that the French are the most wicked of all. But as the news of disease starts spreading across the English countryside, Isabel and her family fear the worst. Should they stay? Should they escape their serfitude? The Black Death can’t actually come for them, right?
But oh, it does, wiping out members of Isabel’s little village with a merciless alacrity. How will Isabel survive when it seems that all hope is lost?
BFF Charm: Yay?
I really liked Isabel but I’m not sure if I ever felt that I really knew her. Much of that is circumstance – even before the Plague came to decimate her village, she was still a girl of Medieval times, more concerned with the plowing and the planting than the kissing and the gossiping. Our lives are so dissimilar that I can’t imagine we could really ever be besties.
But! Isabel is also totally kick-ass and brave and crazy-strong. So if the apocalypse comes, I’m totally going to beep her.
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Isabel is betrothed to Robin and has been since she was a little girl. And I sort of love the simple, matter of fact way that Nicholls handles their relationship. It’s not super swoony, because, duh, it’s 1349 and they have better things to worry about, but their relationship is solid and . . . wholesome, I guess, in a refreshing way. Even when there’s a slight hint of a love triangle (ugh), I never had the feeling that Isabel or Robin would ever really bring romantic drama to their situation. It’s kind of a refreshing change from the usual will-they-won’t-they.
Talky Talk: Historically Accurate
MAN. I don’t know too much about this period in history, beyond what I learned in school, but Nicholls lays on the historical accuracy like a beautiful layer of super-creamy butter, y’all. (I haven’t had breakfast yet today, clearly.) She doesn’t try to trip herself up by going too formal with the dialogue, but does use Medieval words where appropriate. And her setting is just so absorbing and inviting that I really felt like I was there with Isabel and her family . . . to the point where I’m slightly concerned that this throat tickle I have is actually the first signal of my IMMINENT DEATH.
Bonus Factor: Very Superstitious
In the 1300s, people were not necessarily known for their general knowledge, particularly those villeins and other poor servants of a great manor. (Then again, pretty sure that people learned more in the 1300s than we ever did.) It was super interesting to read about the characters’ superstitions and understanding of disease – breathe through a packet of herbs to avoid being infected; those afflicted must be sinners who lie with the Devil, etc.
When I was a little kid, I used to want to travel back to Ye Olden Days and bring along a bottle of Tylenol and penicillin and be regarded as some sort of god. All I’m saying is, I could have made BANK in 1349.
Bonus Factor: The Black Death
Y’ALL. It’s a book about The Black Death! And it does not skimp on the gory details AT ALL. And it’s not one of those pansy-assed novels where no one that the main character loves actually dies, you know? NO. Pretty much EVERYONE dies.
Relationship Status: A Trip to the Museum
I really enjoyed my time with this date, although no sparks really flew. It was the perfect trip to a museum about the Black Death – full of interesting details and shockingly sad stories. I definitely don’t regret my time with it, and I’ll be sure to advise others to take the same trip, but I’m not sure I’ll be revisiting our date again and again.
FTC Full Disclosure: I bought my review copy. I received neither money nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!). All Fall Down is available now.
