{"id":36305,"date":"2019-08-29T22:10:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T02:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36305"},"modified":"2019-08-29T22:10:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T02:10:49","slug":"review-of-brightly-burning-by-alexa-donne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36305","title":{"rendered":"Review of Brightly Burning, by Alexa Donne"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Brightly Burning<\/em><\/p>\n

by Alexa Donne<\/p>\n

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. 394 pages.
\nStarred Review
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#4 Teen Speculative Fiction<\/p>\n

This book is a science fiction retelling of Jane Eyre<\/a><\/em>, and is tremendously good. It reminded me of For Darkness Shows the Stars<\/a><\/em>, a science fiction retelling of Persuasion<\/em>, which I also loved.<\/p>\n

However, the last time I reread Jane Eyre<\/em> I was disappointed that now I can see a whole lot of things wrong with the relationship, so reading this book, I was somewhat upset with myself for finding it very romantic.<\/p>\n

Now, they did clean up some of the more unsavory details. The ward of Captain Fairfax, in this book, is not his illegitimate daughter from a youthful indiscretion, and he doesn\u2019t actually have an insane wife shut up in the attic. Nor is he many years older than our heroine.<\/p>\n

However, he is Stella\u2019s employer. She\u2019s in a subordinate relationship to him, and he orders her to spend some time with him each evening, enjoying his library of actual paper books. And, similar to Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre<\/em>, he tries to make her jealous, and succeeds abominably. He brings a woman to their spaceship along with her family, and Stella learns that the families have long planned to one day combine resources with a marriage. To make matters worse, Captain Fairfax (of the ship Rochester<\/em>) requires Stella to be present when the groups socialize in the evenings \u2013 just as Mr. Rochester did to Jane Eyre.<\/p>\n

The end of the book does have things play out somewhat differently than what happens in Jane Eyre<\/em> – though the gist is quite similar.<\/p>\n

Once again, I don\u2019t really see why I want our heroine to end up with this guy. And yet I do find the story romantic.<\/p>\n

Maybe it rings too true when I remember the pain of unrequited love as a teenager having crushes? Only in our book, it turns out the love is not unrequited.<\/p>\n

Or maybe it\u2019s seeing someone who thinks herself small and insignificant being noticed for her shining character? In this book, Stella won\u2019t let things progress between them until Captain Fairfax acknowledges her as an equal. (I\u2019m glad that point was made, but it doesn\u2019t quite make up for the disparity in power between them.) The truth is that in this book, Stella is the only one who seems willing to stand up for what\u2019s right. So I\u2019m not sure she should have fallen for him. But it is lovely that he found her, despite the fact that she wasn\u2019t seeking his attention.<\/p>\n

All that aside, as a science fiction retelling, this is cleverly executed with much obvious love for the original. The story is wonderful.<\/p>\n

Parents, you might want to read both Jane Eyre<\/em> and this book before you hand them to your teenage daughter \u2013 but I promise you\u2019ll have a whole lot of fun if you do that. As well as having lots to discuss. <\/p>\n

alexadonne.com<\/a>
\nhmhco.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/brightly_burning.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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