All the Wind in the World, source
Hi! Welcome to my blog where I will be reviewing books selected from the American Library Association’s weekly planner for July 2023-December 2024. The first book I will be reviewing of the second semester is All the Wind in the World written by Samantha Mabry, a dystopian fiction novel.
**********SPOILERS AHEAD****************************
This book follows the relationship of Sarah Jane Crow and James Holt. They work in the dry fields of the Southwest and search for inner magic within this barren land. Their love is kept a secret between just the two of them so no one in power is able to use it against them. They repeat the motto “hard hearts” to each other again and again in order to protect themselves emotionally. They refer to themselves as cousins to other workers to keep themselves safe, especially in terms of maintaining their meager wages. By referring to themselves as family, there is less suspicion about why they work together, live together and are planning on moving East in the near future.
Barren Southwest, source
As a couple, they started thinking of their future together and worked to save money. Unfortunately, an accident occurs as they try to head out East in search of a better life. They find themselves on the Real Marvelous Ranch, which might be an area covered with magic and other odd happenings. They meet Leo there who is an older man, experienced with this lifestyle, who frequently gets into fights and lies.
A ranch, source
They are forced to travel to the Real Marvelous by train and take whatever possessions they have with each other. The novel which is written from Sarah Jac’s point of view, alluded to something being off about the Real Marvelous Ranch, but readers are unable to figure out the truth until the novel’s shocking conclusion.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes fantasy or realistic fiction. This book combines both genres as it occurs in a future world with some magic and some chaos brought by magic, but overall is a book pretty grounded in reality. The barren Southwest alludes back to a heavy manual labor world and includes family drama and turmoil. There is not much description of how the Southwest became so barren and all of the events that lead the United States to fall into times like that. That does create some frustration as a reader, but the description is equally as vague about the creation of the Real Marvelous Ranch. Overall, I would give All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry an 8 out of 10.
Hello Julia! It must be difficult to try and cram the summary of such a book into only 500 words, but I think you did a great job! I like how you give the context of the story but then leave us with a cliff hanger, forcing us to read the book if we want to truly know what happened. I am also intrigued to learn what the societal circumstances were that they were unable to disclose their love for one another early on. I guess I’ll have to read the book to find out!
I love that you chose to talk about books for your passion blog as I am a book lover myself. I never have heard of this particular book before but from your description, it seems like a very intriguing read. I like how you continue to mention the point of view and bring up how the readers may feel throughout reading. Overall I think your description is detailed without spoiling the book for people and also provides a good review.
This book sounds so interesting! Now, I want to know what the secrets are behind the Real Marvelous Ranch. I love dystopian although, this is realistic dystopian which I don’t think I’ve ever read before! My goal for this year is to read more so I might be using this blog as inspo!