One for All - Lillie Lainoff

Author: Lillie Lainoff

Narrator: Mara Wilson

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Rating: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: Attention, tout le monde! Just remember that this is a YA book and you will enjoy it far more. If you are an adult reader who wants a deeper experience, that may or may not happen, depending on your bookish requirements.

Story:

France, 1655. Sixteen year old Tania de Batz, the daughter of an erstwhile royal musketeer, loves her sword. However, with her constant dizzy spells, she is considered a “sick” girl and hence weak. Her mother is desperate to get her daughter married off before her health problem becomes too known, though all Tania dreams of is being a musketeer like her father. When her dad is found mysteriously murdered, Tania loses all hope. Imagine her surprise that her dad’s final wish was for her to enroll into a finishing school, L’Académie des Mariées. Once there, Tania realises that this is no ordinary place but a secret training academy for women spies-cum-musketeers. Tania’s life changes and she begins to relish her new tasks at the academy. Will she be able to do well as a spy despite her health issues? Will she ever discover what happened to her father? How will her colleagues react when they learn that their new peer is not in the best of physical conditions?

The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Tania.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 The biggest advantage the book has is that it is an OwnVoices book. The author is a competitive fencer, AND she suffers from the same chronic health problem as Tania does. This brings a great deal of authenticity to the writing of Tania’s experiences.

😍 The second biggest plus point of the book is its representation. Disability and women’s rights get a pride of place in the story, and it also has great LGBTQ representation. (but… without any issues or conflicts related to these characters. I liked that decision – it was as if everyone was perfectly okay with others’ sexual preferences.)

😍 The story is based on Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 work, “The Three Musketeers”. But instead of making this a scene-by-scene copy of the classic, the author chooses to take the essence of the old work and put it into a very different bottle. Thus it is not a faithful retelling but a spin on the original, which works wonderfully for the story.

😍 There is a minor underlying arc of romance but it neither overshadows nor overpowers the main story. There are two potential suitors in Tania’s life and you'll keep seesawing between the two of them in your loyalty. Of course, the mystery is quite obvious to avid readers but for a YA book, it does its job pretty well.

😍 Porthos, Aramis and Athos of the original book become Portia, Aria, and Théa in this modern spinoff. Each of these fab female musketeers has one dominant trait, and that shows itself consistently throughout the story. I liked their camaraderie and the way all of them embodied the idea of “Tous pour un, un pour tous.” (All for one, one for all.) Tania suffers from imposter syndrome during her initial days at the academy but it is due to these girls that she develops her skills and her confidence.

😍 Most historical fictions you read won’t contain details of swashbuckling swordswomen and secret missions during balls. These novel additions provide a refreshing change to the experience.

😍 All the characters act their age. This has become a novelty in YA fiction.

😍 I loved the addition of French dialogues to the story. It doffs a hat to the original book, and at the same time, adds a wonderful authenticity to the experience. But….. (to be continued in the next section)

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😕 But…. (continued from above) in a few instances, there was a needless translation of simple French phrases right next to the original. For instance, there are dialogues that go “C'est vrai, that’s right” or “Je suis désolée, I am sorry”. This sounds very silly, especially to those who know both the languages. There are better ways of putting across the meaning without being so literal about it.

😕 Tania was naive throughout the narrative. I would have preferred her to mature more as the story progressed, but right till the end, she remains almost as ignorant as at the start. Though she does grow in confidence and courage, I would have loved to see her grow in common sense too.

😕 Tania’s dizzy attacks seem to come up exactly when the plot needs a delay. It seemed too convenient at times.

😕 The dialogues seem a bit too contemporary in some cases.

😕 The middle part of the story felt a bit slow and repetitive. (At least in the audiobook.)

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook clocks at 12.5 hours and is narrated by Mara Wilson (whom you might remember as the little girl who played the titular role in the movie “Matilda”.) Mara puts her acting chops to great use here and delivers an outstanding performance. Her rendering of both the French and the English lines is impeccable. She elevated the experience for me even further.

I hate the fact that audio ALCs rarely contain the author’s note. I kept waiting to understand what disability Tania suffers from but it never came up. It is only by reading other reviews that I discovered that she suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which is a chronic illness hardly anyone knows about. Reading up more on this syndrome helped me understand Tania’s situation better. Of course, if you get the published copy of the audiobook, you’ll not face the same issue as I did and will probably hear from the author herself about this health issue.

Despite the issues I had with the writing, this is still one of the better YA books I've read. Its concept makes it unique, and the author’s personal experiences shine throughout the story. Overall, it’s a really impressive debut with only minor flaws that will be ironed out with more writing experience.

4.25 stars from this YA work. (If it were a book for adults, I might have rated it a 3.75.)

Definitely recommended to Young Adults (and Adults who are Young at Heart) who want to read a different kind of YA book with some clever and courageous women leading the story.

My thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC of “One For All”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.