If you are crazy for the past, The Wicked And The Just by J. Anderson Coats will set your history senses tingling. Taking place in medieval Wales, The Wicked And The Just is a magnificent read about two girls – one a stranger in a strange land, the other is a refugee in her own country after her family loses everything after the English take over Wales.
The Wicked And The Just
Cecily is SO angry with her father. You see, Cecily has grown up at Edgeley Hall in England and assumed it would someday be hers as part of her dowry. When her uncle returns from the Crusades and reclaims Edgeley, Cecily’s father uproots the two for power and economic opportunity in the recently conquered Wales. She just can’t get used to the tongue-pull speaking and the strange looks she gets from the Welsh, never mind the hard to remember customs. Gwenhwyfar has seen too much pain. After the death of her father, the loss of the family estate and the subsequent illness of her mother, it’s a rough life for Gwinny. The icing on the cake? Working for an English girl she simply refers to as the brat. The Wicked And The Just alternates point of view between Cecily and Gwenhwyfar.
Cecily is indeed a brat. It’s hard to feel sympathy for her at first because she lacks gumption. However, as the story progresses, Cecily’s character develops – she shows inner strength that is admirable given the circumstances. I came to like Gwenhwyfar’s narration much more. Gwinny has every reason to give up and not go on but keeps going. Her character feels true to life. Gwinny never becomes best friends forever with Cecily and spends much of The Wicked And The Just resenting her. It does not go away with a magical life lesson. I liked that touch of realism.
If you are looking for a young adult historical fiction read that pays special attention to the level of historical detail, that has a slow build to an intense crescendo with characters that read as though they were drawn from real life, you should definitely read The Wicked And The Just by debut author J. Anderson Coats.
Disclosure: Received for review from Amazon Vine.
Other reviews of The Wicked And The Just by J. Anderson Coats:
The Readventurer
Wear The Old Coat
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Hmm, this was on my Vine targeted list, but I passed it up. Something about the cover and summary reminds me of MG.
See, I like MG, but The Wicked And The Just is definitely YA.
This was on my Vine targeted list too but I saw other things I wanted more. I just wasn’t sure about the historical aspect-I guess I should have been braver in trying something new because this sounds really good!
Ah, The Wicked And The Just was from the leftovers list for me, but I loved it. I’m really into history, so that was awesome.
Haha, sometimes I wish I was braver about trying certain books too!
I did see this one but wasn’t drawn to it. Still, it woulds like an interesting story, especially since there aren’t many book set in Wales and it seems like a very cool country (it’s on my list!).
Yay! Hahaha I love convincing people to add things to their list! The Wicked And The Just is AWESOME!
I love this cover, anything with a castle always grabs my attention. lol
I have never heard of this book! but it sounds like I would like it.. def adding to my list. I love that this alternates between two point of views.. that is always fun for me. It keeps me more interested when there are different heads to live in.
yay to the realism. Screw those Full House endings.. and Omg, it’s Friday. I miss those TGIF nights on the couch with my gram, and popcorn. All those corny shows were awesome. Boy Meets World was my Fav. I wanted that savage boy like crazy.. I didn’t even care that his hair was brillo pad-ish.
Yeah, I see a castle and my head swivels.
Dude, I miss TGIF too. I used to watch it every single week. I was a big fan of Boy Meets World and Full House and okay I totally do have Full House on DVD. AND I really enjoyed Family Matters. And Step By Step.
Clearly Aprils Of the World have great taste in TV!
Awesome review! I can not wait to read this book!
I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on this. I love historical fiction and I feel like there aren’t nearly enough good YA ones around, or if they do pop up, they are overshadowed by “bigger” books. But this one sounds fab, and the cover is AWESOME!
This actually sounds pretty good 🙂 I like seeing more historical novels in YA.
Or is it MG? Must go look it up. Either way YAY!
I love historical fiction, and the fact this is set in Wales draws my attention even more. Medieval period? WIN! 🙂 Yes, I realize I’m probably showing my geeky history-obsessed colors right now. lol.
Historical fiction and a slow build to an intensity worth reading? Yeah, I’m down.