embers_book_nook's Book Journey

Buckle up bois, this is an essay length review because I have THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS!

I’m not sure exactly what I expected from this book when I started it, all I know is it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year!
I admit it had me at the ‘Zorro retelling’ premise. I would say that, while that’s part of the story, it’s certainly not all of it; I’m apparently in the minority for feeling glad about that. A plain retelling is easy to do.
What this book did is MUCH harder, and the negative reviews seem to be from people so steeped in unexamined colonialist ideals that they are unintentionally amplifying the deeper meanings in this book and driving home how important stories like this really are.

In western colonialism we are so used to books and most media lining up with our worldview, and prioritizing our worldview and ⚪️ culture/norms as the ‘supreme and only correct’ way.
People will often claim to like diverse stories - this is the sort of book that sorts out the people who only like a ‘little bit to feel good about themselves’ versus people who TRULY want to take in a story, culture, and world that is NOT from the POV we are accustomed to.
Now I’m not saying this book is above criticism, or that it doesn’t have some issues with pacing and such, BUT as to the content regarding culture and religion, it was an excellent commentary on these things and the real life impacts they’ve had for so much of history. I discuss this in particular in depth further on in the review.

We’re all, sadly, entrenched in coloniality, and if you’re looking for some ways to challenge that,
this book is a cool place to start.
As someone who happens to be currently taking a year long class studying decoloniality, I have to say for the curious and open mind this book is BRILLIANT and has so much to offer.
The concept of ‘nepantla’ is present in this book, which I was VERY excited to see, and I really loved how this concept was explored and brought to bear by the end of the book. Seeing it discussed in the core origins of its meaning by Nahuatl and Mestizo characters was so special.
I will attach a definition of nepantla at the bottom of my review for those who may be new to the idea!

It seems like another thing many people disliked was the lack of binary characters that fit neatly into tropes, roles, and identities.
I will say I did yell out loud at Leonora specifically a few times - many of her decisions were recklessly impulsive, but it also felt true to her age in the story.
So many things about this story just tore at my heart - it’s so easy to read this history and feel it’s so long ago because of where in the world the story takes place (in what is now modern day Mexico). But it’s happening right now in G@za and that just really brought so many of the difficult themes and some of the brutality in this book into sharp and painful relief for me. In a way it was cathartic to read about it in a way that was so well written, and really wrestled with the nuance of all the real implications and consequences for each character.

Our FMC is a Mestizo - half Spanish and half Indigenous (it does say which tribe but I can’t remember - audiobooks makes it hard to remember details like this sometimes