[ARC Review] A Mad Wicked Folly
Monday, January 20, 2014Title: A Mad Wicked Folly
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Genre: YA Historical
Release Date: January 23, 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
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Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?
I am a sucker for historical YA, so when I saw that A Mad Wicked Folly was set during the time of the Suffragettes I was super excited because that time was very imprtant not only for woman's right to vote, but for the world to understand that women had a right to live their own lives. Although I love historical fiction, it does have to be done right, and honestly this one was a little on the boring side to me.
The characters themselves were great and memorable which was great to read. I loved Vicky because she was such a force for her passions, and that is exactly what you want in a female heroine. I hated Vicky's father mostly because he is a man of the times, so that means he thinks nothing of women's rights, and believes that the only place for a woman is in the house and being a wife and mother. Will Fletcher was a great breath of fresh air in this novel because he was not against women's rights, he actually believed they should have a vote. And his relationship with Vicky was fast and emotional. I just wish that there was more to it then I read. It seemed like there could have been more interactions.
What I think I did not like about this book was the amount of description there was. I loved the description of the Suffragettes and their campaign because I fond that stuff fascinating, but honestly everything was too much for me. For a YA novel it seemed like too much exposition and not enough dialogue. The characters in this book were great and their interactions with each other was great and I constantly found myself skipping over descriptions to the dialogue because I found that more entertaining.
If you are a historical YA junkie, this book might be for you. But for me I was looking for more character interaction and less of the London setting.
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