RaveThe Washington PostPick an adjective — sweeping, sprawling, epic, Olympian — and yet none quite conveys the emotional width and depth of Julie Berry’s brilliant new novel ... Berry is a master at weaving disparate elements to craft a truly original story populated with characters who will take up permanent residence in readers’ hearts and minds. Berry also doesn’t neglect the need for some levity, and readers will be especially amused by the Immortals’ snarky comments and constant competition with one another ... a uniquely multilayered novel that readers will be reluctant to conclude. Though Lovely War is being marketed to teens, adults looking for a memorable, well-told tale should not be shy about delving in, too.
Amy Gary
MixedThe Washington PostDrawing on personal letters and diaries, author Amy Gary draws a colorful — if oddly speculative — portrait ... Clearly Gary has plenty of material with which to fashion a page-turner of a biography. Yet there’s a troubling lack of attribution to many of Gary’s observations ... This novelistic style is sometimes distracting and puzzling. Gary writes in her introduction that she spent years working with Brown’s papers, including her diaries and letters, which she found in a trunk in the attic of Margaret’s sister’s barn. Why not quote from those so we can hear Brown’s voice directly?
