Empress & Aniya

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It continues with chapters on her involvement in the Japanese war, her children, the revolutions and the great war, and the days before the Tsar fell from power. Now, the idea of swapping identities is not new; Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, for example, had both explored what it might entail. I like the optimism but it just came out of nowhere and seemingly solved everything without actually talking bluntly about the issue at hand properly. Aniya’s parents were so supportive and really made an effort to try and connect with Aniya through the turbulence of her adolescence, and help with Empress. My only slight issue was that the pacing was a little off and I wish that the *spoiler alert* body swap excitement had been introduced a little earlier.

Goodreads Loading interface - Goodreads

Lol) ANYWAY, B2B—The prose is very simple, a little overly simple for my tastes IMHO, but that DOES make it super readable! They didn’t really feel like they were 15 in their mannerisms or their speech, and the writing style was very dialogue centred. Five people who don't have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad's gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues. Somehow, she connects the dots of the universe and leads us gently towards insights into the essential questions of existence. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a terrible and wayward boyfriend, Dimple's life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen.I wish it was longer to actually dive into the issues it brought forward, it feels like the outline of some amazing story but feels incomplete. For the most part, they’re briefly brought up in a couple of sentences and then dismissed without ever being addressed. Everything about the book, from the pink cover to the short length; the writing style focused on dialogue over description to the simple characters is middle grade. Lovely characterisation with a true emphasis on feminine friendship- something that I don’t think gets quite enough credit.

The Guardian Young adult books round-up – review - The Guardian

It may take the advice of trying walking in another’s shoes for her to fully appreciate and empathise with her ‘assigned friend’. In 1611, thirty-four-year-old Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of Emperor Jahangir.I just think it was such a wasted opportunity and it really could've added complexity and depth to the narrative.