An exploration of both time-travel and identity, Allison Evans’ Ida is a beautifully diverse and emotional story that I feel I’ve been waiting to read long before I knew it existed.
Time travel is usually a hit-or-miss for me, but the reader learns about Ida’s powers more or less at the same pace as she does. It isn’t explained in complex scientific detail, but personally, I prefer that. Ida’s journey and exploration of her powers are driven by her emotions, and Evans works tirelessly to make the reader feels those emotions themselves. Ida’s situation brings questions of identity, stability, love, family, and financial struggles, as well as many issues that seem specific but will ring home for many readers.
What drew me into the story and kept me hooked was the diversity; this is one of the first books I’ve read where the main characters are LGBT, and the story doesn’t revolve around their gender or sexuality. That’s not to say the characters’ identities are ignored; they’re absolutely not. Things like pronouns and binders are mentioned as a normal part of life, and Evans does bring up discrimination, but this is fantasy – these characters are allowed to exist without the story being bogged down by hate. Ida’s cast of characters are engaging and so rare to see in fiction, I would have happily read about them without the fantasy element. I’ve been looking for a fantasy novel without a diverse cast, and Ida quenched that thirst.
The story itself is enthralling; while simple in theory, it has the right amount of mystery, horror and thriller elements that will keep you reading. The story is ultimately character-centered, with Ida’s emotional journey at the crux of it all. Ida is an easy character to attach yourself to; her guilt, her concern for her partner and her fears of being a burden to her family things we all deal with at some point, and through Ida’s grief in alternate timelines, we find that we cry with her. There’s a part of me still in Ida’s world, wanting to know what happens to her after her story ends.
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series played a huge role in my love of Greek mythology – the modern take on heroes and myths make them easier for a young audience to understand, and there are plenty of Easter eggs for those who already know their myths. The Lightning Thief kicks off the series wonderfully, introducing …
April Genevieve Tucholke’s high fantasy novel, The Boneless Mercies, sweeps the reader into a deeply evocative world that grants a feminist take on classic tales inspired by Norse mythology. A retelling of Beowulf, the story follows a band of young women called the Boneless Mercies as they abandon the life they knew and travel the …
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which has been deemed by both critics and the general public as a staple in both horror and gothic literature, readers are introduced to Jonathan Harker, who travels to the region of Transylvania to meet with Count Dracula in order to assist him in his real estate affairs. It is not long, …
The Conference of the Birds offers readers with a fifth dive into Ransom Rigg’s world of the much-adored literary peculiars. In this novel, which carries on directly from ‘A Map of Days’–released as the fourth book in 2019–Jacob and his peculiar friends return to uncover the mystery surrounding their newest companion Noor, most namely piecing …
Melissa Keil’s The Secret Science of Magic is a unique and compelling twist on the typical romance novel. Shift away from the typical “quirky” star-crossed lover archetypes, Keil has created the kind of relatable and complex character that exist in real life, but rarely ever play a starring role in the media. Sophia is so …
DRAGON RIDER follows the tale of Firedrake, a young dragon who sets off on a quest to find the acclaimed Rim of Heaven after learning that his home–and all the dragons that live in it–are in grave danger of a man-induced flood that will destroy their riparian home. Along the way, he will be joined …
Book Review – Ida by Allison Evans
An exploration of both time-travel and identity, Allison Evans’ Ida is a beautifully diverse and emotional story that I feel I’ve been waiting to read long before I knew it existed.
Time travel is usually a hit-or-miss for me, but the reader learns about Ida’s powers more or less at the same pace as she does. It isn’t explained in complex scientific detail, but personally, I prefer that. Ida’s journey and exploration of her powers are driven by her emotions, and Evans works tirelessly to make the reader feels those emotions themselves. Ida’s situation brings questions of identity, stability, love, family, and financial struggles, as well as many issues that seem specific but will ring home for many readers.
What drew me into the story and kept me hooked was the diversity; this is one of the first books I’ve read where the main characters are LGBT, and the story doesn’t revolve around their gender or sexuality. That’s not to say the characters’ identities are ignored; they’re absolutely not. Things like pronouns and binders are mentioned as a normal part of life, and Evans does bring up discrimination, but this is fantasy – these characters are allowed to exist without the story being bogged down by hate. Ida’s cast of characters are engaging and so rare to see in fiction, I would have happily read about them without the fantasy element. I’ve been looking for a fantasy novel without a diverse cast, and Ida quenched that thirst.
The story itself is enthralling; while simple in theory, it has the right amount of mystery, horror and thriller elements that will keep you reading. The story is ultimately character-centered, with Ida’s emotional journey at the crux of it all. Ida is an easy character to attach yourself to; her guilt, her concern for her partner and her fears of being a burden to her family things we all deal with at some point, and through Ida’s grief in alternate timelines, we find that we cry with her. There’s a part of me still in Ida’s world, wanting to know what happens to her after her story ends.
Ida by Alison Evans is available for sale here!
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which has been deemed by both critics and the general public as a staple in both horror and gothic literature, readers are introduced to Jonathan Harker, who travels to the region of Transylvania to meet with Count Dracula in order to assist him in his real estate affairs. It is not long, …
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