The setting is early 1800’s. Hazel is fascinated with science and specifically medical applications. She sneaks in to watch a medical lecture because women aren’t allowed to attend. Jack scrapes by with odd jobs, such as digging up recently buried bodies to sell for medical studies. Hazel and Jack meet when he helps her sneak into a medical presentation. Hazel later disguises herself as a young gentleman so she can attend classes to become a physician. She’s found out but the professor makes a deal with her and gives her some help to prepare for the physician’s exam. Her family is away so she can study as much as she wants. She also begins treating people that aren’t taken care of by the hospital. She ends up treating patients with Roman Fever; a plague that seems to be appearing again. Jack brings exhumed bodies to Hazel for studying and live patients for her to treat. Jack and Hazel become close, even though she’s been betrothed to a viscount’s son since she was a child. Jack and Hazel get involved in the horrible experimentation of an eccentric doctor and everything gets turned upside down for both of them. I love Jack and Hazel. They’re both strong and selfless and they have an adorable relationship. I would love a sequel to be written to continue the story but at this point, I can’t see any sign of that happening. A mix of mystery and historical fiction to be enjoyed, 5 stars!

I liked this, but I'm also being generous with this rating. Overall, this was a twisty little gothic tale that, for the most part, kept my interest. Hazel was probably my favorite character throughout the story, and she was wonderfully similar to some of my favorite YA protagonists (very Jo March) in that she's headstrong and determined and goes against the norm of her nineteenth-century upbringing in an effort to break into the medical field.

I do feel like the pacing for this story felt a bit off, though, and a little chaotic? I guess? And I feel like there are still a few unfinished threads that I have questions about and I would have loved a bit more resolution or explanation for those things since I was told to care about them initially and now I'm just kind of here ... wondering what happened. I also wish Jack had a bit more of a personality because, while I liked him, and I loved his love for Hazel, I'm not entirely sure what she saw in him because he was kind of dull and 2-dimensional. Hazel was this bright, vibrant little hellraiser, and Jack was just ... there. I wanted more from that relationship, especially if we were supposed to love him more than Bernard. (Also, speaking of, how did Hazel get away with so much time away from Bernard? They're basically engaged and rarely speak to or see each other???? When she's alone in this big house???? Seems sus)

But all that aside, I loved the gothic and macabre vibe of this book (it gave me wonderful flashbacks to when I first met Audrey Rose in Stalking Jack the Ripper) and how diligent Hazel was in her studies and her determination to make it in the medical field. The multiple POVs (especially when they merged into one), the twists and turns of the plot, and the weird creepy setting all came together to provide a quick and enjoyable book, even with its flaws. While it's not my favorite read this year, none of the issues I had with this story prevented me from still having a good time.

Plus that epilogue (sigh).

If anything, this story has me excited to see what we get next from Dana Schwartz.


[I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review]

"While Davey tugged the rope, Munro, still in the grave, helped to guide the body out of the small hole in the coffin and back toward the surface world, a strange reverse birth for a body past death. Munro successfully removed the body’s shoes off as it left its coffin, but it was up to Davey to strip off the rest of its clothes and throw them back in the grave. Stealing a body was against the law, but if they actually took any property from the grave, that would make it a felony."
--------------------------------------
"It’s the lesson young girls everywhere were taught their entire lives—don’t be seduced by the men you meet, protect your virtue—until, of course, their entire lives depended on, seduction by the right man. It was an impossible situation, a trick of society as a whole: force women to live at the mercy of whichever man wants them but shame them for anything they might do to get a man to want them. Passivity was the ultimate virtue…Be patient, be silent, be beautiful and untouched as an orchid, and then and only then will your reward come: a bell jar to keep you safe."

Ok, so I screwed up. First off, I thought the pub date was 2/22/22 and scheduled my reading and review accordingly. Uh, sorry. Actual pub date was 1/18/22, so I am coming at this one a bit late. Second, I did not do a very thorough job of reading about the book when it was offered. I somehow managed to overlook the fact that it is a YA novel. I have nothing against YA novels. Some of my favorite books are YA novels, but I usually pass on YA books these days unless there is a compelling reason to take them on. Had I seen that it was a YA, I would probably have skipped this one. Finally, yet another failing on my part. I somehow managed to overlook the romance element in the promotional copy. Again, I have nothing against romance elements in books which are mostly of another sort. Quite enjoy them when they are well done. But did not have my expectations primed for the presence of quite as much as there is here, which is not to say that it is huge. It is not. So, multiple failings, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. The product of impatience. Won’t happen again. I know the drill, Three Hail Marys and a couple of Our Fathers. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest ands offered fair warning…on to the book itself.

Hazel Sinnett is seventeen. She has always lived in a castle an hour outside Edinburgh. It is 1817. She very much wants to study medicine, has read all the books in the family library on the subject, but lacks actual school-based tuition and hands-on experience. When the grandson of a famous doctor is in town to deliver a lecture, she finds a way to attend. Gender attitudes being what they were at the time, people of her sort were not welcome. Still, she finds a way, with some help, and when the doctor announces he will be offering an anatomy class she is desperate to attend.

Medicine is making some advances but the study of the human body requires actual human bodies, preferably lately late. Executions not providing sufficient resources to fill the need, a profession has arisen to satisfy that demand, resurrectionists, who, for a fee, relieve nearby graves of their residents, and deliver same to their clients with the utmost of discretion. Jack Currer, also seventeen, counts that among his several jobs. He happens to be hanging about near the Anatomists’ Society when Hazel is locked out. Meet Cute as Jack shows this clearly well-to-do young lady a secret way in. Think these two might just cross paths again? Of course, there are impediments.

Hazel is not in line to inherit anything, regardless of her parents’ wealth, bypassed in favor of the male heir. The female thing again. The usual way for a young lady from a god family to secure a future is to secure a husband of means. As it happens, she has a first cousin living not too far away, Bernard. They have known reach other forever, played together since early childhood, and it has been presumed that it was only a matter of time before Bernard would propose. He is not a bad sort, but rather dull and a bit too concerned with his appearance. Hazel recognizes that there are problems with her being allowed to make her own way in the world, so more or less anesthetizes herself to the likelihood that Bernard is her likeliest way out of a life of penury. God knows that is what her mother keeps telling her, and telling her, and telling her.

She manages to attend some of Doctor Beecham’s lectures, and is the star pupil, but the female thing again. Guys, catch up, C’Mon! Beecham at least recognizes her intelligence and they come to an agreement. If she can pass the medical exam at the end of the term, she will be able to get real medical training. Unfortunately, there’s that hands-on thing. Books alone will simply not do. But wait! It just so happens she has made the acquaintance of someone who might be able to help her out, and a beautiful friendship blossoms.

"I really thought I was going to go be a doctor,” Dana Schwartz says about her time as a pre-med student in college. “Then I had this panicked moment of realizing I was so fundamentally unhappy. My dream was always to be a writer, but I never thought I could make a living that way.” - from the Forbes interview"

But it is not all raw sexism and Hallmark moments. There are dark doings in Edinburgh. A plague has struck, a return of the so-called “Roman fever” which had killed over five thousand the last time it hit, two years before. It had even killed Hazel’s beloved brother, George. She had caught it as well, but managed to survive. Is it really Roman
Fever that is boosting the mortality rate? Jack is aware of far too many acquaintances vanishing, and there are strange doings in the local graveyards as a trio of heavies are haunting such areas, terrorizing the poor resurrection men. Then Hazel begins to see some very strange medical problems when she starts getting to study specimens obtained by Jack, and treating some locals. There is also something decidedly off about Doctor Beecham, who never seems to remove his dark gloves, and demonstrates a mind-numbing drug as a road to pain-free surgery. Then there is Doctor Straine, one eye, nasty skin and a worse attitude, a surgeon working with Doctor Beecham. Seems like a nogoodnik from the build-a-creep shop.

It was the gothic elements that had drawn me to the story. And they are indeed present. But Schwartz has had some fun with them. (For the following I used some of a list from Elif Notes.) Usually gothic novels feature a Desolate, haunted Setting, typically a very creepy castle or equivalent. Here, Hazel lives in a castle, which is a pretty benign home for her. Other sites must serve this purpose. Graveyards work, and certainly provide some chills, and any place where human bodies are being cut up, for purposes educational or malign, will also serve, so, check. Dark and Mysterious Atmosphere? You betcha, plenty of suspect characters and unexplained deaths and disappearances. Something supernatural? Well, I do not want to give anything away, so will say only that there is an element here that qualifies the story as fantasy. Emotional Extremes? Fuh shoo-uh. Although the emotional extremes are as much about Hazel’s lot in life as they are about the actual life-and-death shenanigans that are going on. Women as Victims - absolutely, but in the wider, sexism-conscious sense as well as in the way of a damsels being put upon by dastardly males. Curses and Portents - not so much, except what we all might wish upon some of the baddies. Visions and Nightmares - Hazel has some of the latter, but nothing mystical about them, just recollections of horrors she had seen in real life. Frightening Tone - most definitely. There is clearly something sinister going on in Edinburgh. Frightening Weather - not really. There is a fun early bit in which we are waiting for an incoming storm to deliver some life-generating lightning, but mostly, weather is not that big a deal here. Religious Concerns - social mores are more the thing in this one. Good versus Evil - there is some serious evil going on here. And Hazel is definitely a force for good. A Touch of Romance - yes. Well, more than a touch. Hey, Laddy, you’d better keep those hands to yersel ef ya wan ter keep ‘em on the ends uh yer arms.”

There is Romance and then there is Love. The title even highlights it, Anatomy: A Love Story. There is clearly some romance going on here. Hazel and Jack give off sparks which brings their obvious connection to life. But Hazel’s true love may be more the passion she has for learning, for science, for medicine, for anatomy, for surgery. If she were really faced with a choice between being a doctor or being with Jack, and the two were exclusive, are you confident what choice she would make? Is it possible to have your cake and dissect it too? Not so easy in 1817 Scotland.

The real horrors here are the treatment of women as a subordinate level of human and the joys of the class system in early 19th Century Scotland. Even coming from a family of means, Hazel is refused entry into a profession for which she has passion, and a clear capability, simply because of her gender. She must endure belittling by men, in power and not, who are her intellectual and moral inferiors, as she struggles to find a way forward. Contemplating her life options, Hazel sees her future as a life under a bell jar, whatever that may be referring to. The experience of being poor in the Georgian era is shown not only in the life of Jack, but in the ways the poor and working class are held in their place no less than if they were confined to a castle dungeon, and in the depraved indifference the wealthy show to the lives of those less fortunate than themselves.

"“The main mystery I wanted to pick at and unravel is who gets forgotten in society and for what purpose,” Schwartz says. “Obviously today, there is a huge wealth gap that continues to grow, but in the 1800s, the aristocracy made that wealth gap explicit. There was a social and cultural line, so I wanted to explore in a way that doesn’t necessarily label the characters as heroes or villains.” - from the San Diego Tribune interview"

There are some comedic elements, one of which focuses on a man-eater and is hilarious. There a lovely bit of a secondary romantic sub plot, and some fun references. Hazel is all excited to hear about a lecture/demonstration put on by someone named Galvini. This is a clear reference to the actual Luigi Galvani who was putting on shows in which dead things were animated with electricity from a battery. He provided some of the inspiration for a young writer of that era. The epigraph of the novel is a quote from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, whose creation has near universal familiarity. A mention of Mary Wollstonecraft, her mom, serves double duty as a reference to a leading light for women’s rights in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and as a reminder that the novel deals with matters of life and death, and maybe life again. Hazel’s younger brother is named Percy, which again reminds one of Mary Shelley. A recollection of Walter Scott reciting his Lady of the Lake epic at her Uncle and Aunt’s house is also reminiscent of the Wollstonecraft/Godwin household, in which Coleridge read his Rime of the Ancient Mariner. So, there are many Frankensteinian parts gathered together to help animate the story.

Some parts did not quite fit, however. It was sooo convenient that her father was away on a prolonged naval mission, and that Mum decides to head out of town for an extended period with her other, much more valuable, male child, Hazel’s younger brother. So, Risky Business time for the entire season at Hawthornden Castle. (Although maybe Summer at Bernie’s might be a bit closer, given the issues with dead people.) AND, really? none of the staff rats Hazel out to her mother, the one paying their salary, for running a clinic at the family residence? Maybe we should consider this part of the fantasy element. Re my intro, I was not much excited by the squishy romance bits, but I already told you about that. No biggie, ultimately. It is mostly adorable.

Dana Schwartz has written a strong, literary, YA novel that offers some chills, an historical look at a place and time, and a look at the challenges faced by the poor and by those of the female persuasion, when it was still the rule to treat women as servants, eye candy, or brood mares. It shows a powerful approach and makes me eager to see what she comes up with when she writes a full-on adult novel, but that may not be next up on her board.

"…right now, I have an idea for a sequel that I really want to tell and I think will be really fun. I thought this was going to be a one-off, but when I reached the ending, and I sat with that for a few months, I thought that there’s something else here.” - from the San Diego Tribune interview"

Review posted – February 11, 2022

Publication date – January 18, 2022

I received an ARE of Anatomy: A Love Story from Wednesday Books in return for a fair review and some help dealing with an uncomfortable neck growth. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.

For the full review with links et al, please check my site , Cootsreviews.co

If you know me, you know I love a good historical fiction and when you mix that with the YA genre, I'm 100% in. I grabbed this book for two primary reasons. First was the description but the second reason was the cover. I LOVE it.

Hazel is our main character and the thing she wants most is to become a surgeon. Unfortunately for her, as a Lady, that isn't something society is really willing to accept / allow. So when she comes up with a plan to sign up for classes / instruction as a man, she has the opportunity to do the thing she knows is the future for her. Unfortunately, she is found out but she makes a deal with one of the instructors. If she can pass the exam (without his classes), she will be allowed to enroll in University. It's a good thing she knows someone who can help her get bodies to study and dissect.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man and when he crossed paths with Hazel, little did he know things would quickly take a turn for him. As the city of Edinburgh deals with a plague, he and his fellow resurrection men are finding that their jobs have become more dangerous. Jack's friends are disappearing and when they do come back (not always) they are missing body parts. As he works closely with Hazel, they start to realize there is more happening here than they expected.

I loved the layers to this story. You have the class level issues (marriage, trying to survive, expectations of women, etc.) but you also have this other mystery of what is truly happening to these people disappearing off the street. I have to admit, that bit of the story was unexpected and it was a great twist to the story.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this story. There were a few things I wanted to know more about in the end like, how did Hazel's mother feel about everything...she was a major character in the beginning and drove a lot of the decisions Hazel made but then there was no closure. Too, her father is mentioned often but only as a catalyst to where Hazel is today, nothing noted around any of the choices she made. Jack!! I can't really say anything here but I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

If you're looking for a historical YA with a bit of a mystery and a gothic feel, definitely check this one out!

Beautifully written and engaging historical fiction with a daring female protagonist taking up the profession of medicine and surgery when it was socially unacceptable for women to do so. I loved the homage to Shelley's Frankenstein and the hints of supernatural threaded within a lovely Victorian mystery.

Recommended and purchased for school library.

In a book called Anatomy: The Love Story, I honestly expected more romance; the Mcs don’t really even start interacting until the 2nd half. Overall, though, I enjoyed this bc I don’t mind the lack of romance, I just found the title to be misleading. Also, It took me a while to get into (I considered DNFing it a few times) and I found the ending unsatisfying but I liked the characters and atmosphere overall. Plus, I'm always a sucker for surgeon mcs.

This was not a completely original story for me, it felt a little like a mix between The Corpse Queen meets the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, with a curious headstrong lonely girl who wants to pursue medicine in a time where women were supposed to only be seen and be pretty, the dark underbelly of body snatchers and the mystery of random deaths, and a forbidden secret romance. I will say though that the story did not end with a HEA, instead this was very much more real than the other two books I mentioned, where criminals get punished and love is a nice idea that may not play out. Hazel was a very strong protagonist, headstrong, smart and capable even in the face of everyone's criticism and I rooted her on for that. She is for sure the person I would want in my corner if I was sick.

Keep in mind that based on the subject matter, this story is not for the faint of heart since it has lots of detailed descriptions of human dissections as well as anatomy and ailments. If you don't like blood and gore, even if it is mostly for medical usage, this may not be the book for you.

This story is listed as YA and the main character is in her late teens but I would say that this could be a book geared for anyone who likes historical fiction with a murder mystery, age is irrelevant since the content is so far reaching/. I will say that I was hoping for a more clear ending to the book then what I got, but I am sure that other people will love the hint of an open ending that Anatomy had.

Now this was a very interesting story! I love that it’s set in Edinburgh at the height of the surge of medical/surgical knowledge in that city. I’ve read about the resurrection men before and have always been intrigued by what they did to make just enough money to live. And it fascinates me that people were so desperate to learn that they were willing to pay someone to dig up fresh bodies!

The love story was both sweet and heartbreaking, how Hazel was torn between doing what her family considered to be the right thing and following her heart (both in life and in love). It was a beautiful love story between a girl and a boy, but also between a girl and knowledge. Well worth the read! I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars and recommend you pick up a copy for yourself. 🙂

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the digital copy of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own! 🙂

I have to admit that this one didn't work for me as well as I had wanted it to. Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz follows a young woman in 19th century Edinburgh who, in her pursuit of becoming a doctor, needs to resort to some of the more unsavory practices that medical students used at the time to have cadavers to practice on. It's such a fun, intrigue-rich setup, but for me it was bogged down by the romance. Now I know what you're thinking, I KNOW! It says "A Love Story" right in the title. That is truly my fault for coming into this book not wanting a romance, and it is by no means the novel or Schwartz's fault, so take my star rating with a grain of salt, please. I hope that there are people out there who find this novel and enjoy it for what it is: a fun macabre romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC.

For a debut book, this was super fun. I liked that it felt dark and twisty without feeling like I would slip into a depression. It was moody and morose with the perfect amount of hope.

{3.5 stars}

Hazel is a privileged daughter in high society in 1817 Edinburgh, but she is completely overlooked in her family. Her father is away in the Navy and her mother is mourning the death of her older brother and focused on curating her younger brother as a new heir. This leaves Hazel to immerse herself in academic pursuits - she is obsessed with the idea of becoming a physician - completely unheard of for a woman in her era. She uses all manner of cunning and deceit to weasel her way into famous anatomist, Dr Beecham's courses. When she's found out she must turn to an even more dangerous way to obtain specimens to study, grave robbing. Along the way, she and her handsome, grave robbing crush face the Roman fever and a few curious mysteries about the bodies they are digging up and those who are doing similar work.

I've read quite a few resurrectionist stories set in Edinburgh in this era, so while I enjoyed this - I think my rating reflects that none of this was super new for me. I do think this story makes a dark era of historic fiction really accessible to this genre of readers though. I did really like Hazel's laser focus and her determination but I'm not sure she had much of an arc. There is a love story in this one, but that didn't do much for me. I was there for the science and the girl power.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.

Initial Thoughts
I was so excited when I received an advanced copy of this book. I love historical fiction and this one had a hint of fantasy vibes. I also have read several books about the Resurrectionists and was excited to read another story about them but set in Scotland.

Some Things I Liked
Women in STEM. I always love a story of a lady kicking butt and taking names in the maths and sciences. I loved the main character in this story and loved the way she went after her dreams unapologetically.
The romance. The romance in this story was so sweet and made me feel all the feelings. Neither of our main characters was looking for love but love can surprise you in the best ways.
The touch of fantasy vibes. I actually really loved that this one took a tiny bit of a fantastical detour. It wasn't just a murder mystery, it had more to it than that and I think that element of the story kept me on my toes the entire time. The almost Faustian bargain that was made in the end of the story gave me hope for a sequel and for more books set in this world.

Series Value
While I'd love a sequel here, I don't think there will be one. The hopeful note at the end of the story was just enough to leave me satisfied but also a little unsure and I think it would be best to preserve that feeling.

Final Thoughts
I wasn't expecting to love this one as much as I did. It was so good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one left me thinking long after it ended. More a story of possibility than romance, more science than fiction, more subtle and still quite stark.

Anatomy: A Love Story is an historical Young Adult tale, part murder-mystery and definitely a love story, but not in the typical sense. We follow 17 year old Hazel, who wants to be a surgeon. In 1817 Scotland, that’s not something a woman is able to do. This story has graveyards, resurrection men, love, betrayal, corpses. While the ending was a little out of left field, I really loved this book. Highly recommended!

3.5

When I heard that the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Noble Blood, wrote a book I was immediately intrigued and then I found out it was a gothic historical romance between a girl who wants to be a surgeon and a resurrection man and I knew I had to read it.

While I had a great time reading this though, I think there were aspects that left me disappointed. The biggest, I think, is that it's sold as a "gothic tale full of mystery and romance" and it literally says it's a love story in the title; however, the romance felt a little flat to me. Don't get me wrong, I loved both Hazel and Jack and I did really like them together, but it felt so fast that I didn't get to savor the tension the way I was expecting.

That being said, I liked the setting a lot. I think Dana Schwartz did a good job of creating 1817 Edinburgh and of pulling in details of how society was reacting to plague and grave robbers.

And I really loved Hazel as a main character. I think anyone who, like me, has a soft spot for protagonists fighting against the constraints society has placed on them, will also love her and will be cheering for her to succeed, even if some of the plot is a smidge unbelievable. I have a really hard time believing she was able to run a full on secret infirmary in her basement and no one knew about it.

Lastly, there is a point in the last 15% of the book where the trajectory of the plot changes and I think that will be very divisive. I liked it quite a bit and I think it's what bumped my rating from a 3 to a 3.5, but I have seen others with differing opinions.

Okay, I wasn't sure about this one. It wasn't bad. I think it was definitely a "me" thing, though, with it being historical and that's just something I really can't get into. I really couldn't get into it because it just felt slow.

The premise in itself was really interesting, though. I love Hazel's character. Her determination to get what she wants and not giving up. The things she goes through to prove her worth in a world and time where men are more valuable.

The friendship formed with Jack was both predictable but also really odd. A woman wanting to become a doctor and a man who is a grave digger. I didn't think Jack would come around, but I think they both needed something from each other and "money fixes everything." I love how eventually Jack begins helping Hazel with her learning and thinking logically, etc.

Also, what was that ending? The plot twist wasn't that shocking and while there was a hell of a cliffhanger . . . it also felt unsatisfying. It was missing something but I really can't put my finger on it.

Overall, I do agree with a review that says it's like Stalking Jack the Ripper in a way. However, it has its own thing going for it, too. If you like historical stories, a strong-willed and independent woman paving ways, and an unexpected mystery -- it's definitely worth the read!

Dark, gritty, and unapologetically gothic- Anatomy was just what I hoped I was getting myself into! The themes of the value of human life vs the pursuit of knowledge and power really resonated, but my favorite part by far was the romance. I was invested in Hazel and Jack from the very beginning, and their story's end had me incredibly emotional. A must read for fans of Frankenstein and The Madman's Daughter triology!

I requested this book because I’d liked Dana Schwartz’s journalism, the plot sounded interesting, and (of course) that gorgeous cover! Now that I’ve finished, I’ll say that I’m still a fan of Schwartz’s nonfiction and the cover, but that Anatomy didn’t work for me.

The book was a fairly by the numbers historical romp. I did like the Scottish setting, but I found myself tired of the “I’m not like other girls” spin to the heroine. (A tone that has carried over to both press coverage and some other reviews). While there were certainly women in the early 19th century who entered male-dominated professions, there were also a lot of smart, independent women who thrived in midwifery, domestic spaces, etc. Like many contemporary YAs/romances set in the past, I felt like the heroine’s thoughts/opinions were often indistinguishable from modern ones in ways that seemed jarring. It definitely felt more wallpaper historical than accurate, and it just didn’t work for me. I think I’ll stick to Sarah Waters.

I had high hopes for Anatomy: A Love Story. It for sure did not disappoint. I loved the realness of the characters, the vivid imagery of Victorian England, and the dark academia vibes that it gave off. I devoured this book as fast as I could, because I just could not get enough.

Usually, I don't favor historical fiction but this synopsis and cover were too intriguing for me to resist. This story has great historical context with a realistic depiction of the social standards for different classes and sexes. It's always refreshing to see a woman in medicine and the protagonist is a strong, intelligent and loveable character that will charm you throughout your reading.

I would have enjoyed this more had it been adult since the story would have been darker and more gruesome which would have kept the dark aura of this book. Additionally the story is already considered gruesome for a YA book but had it been adult the revelation at the end could have been more detailed.

Even if I would have enjoyed this book had been more mature, I am definitely buying the hardcover copy of this book for a young sister that wants to become a doctor.

Overall it's a unique YA historical fiction that I would recommend for young teens but I would have been interested in seeing this book in adult fiction.