Jubilee Manor

by Bethany Hagen

[bookishzelda]

Jubilee Manor picks up right after Landry Park. We are seeing a shift in politics that trickles down to everyone quality of life and state of being. I like how we are now in the reconstruction mode and the struggles that come along with that. We also have a bit of a mystery going on as the gentry heirs are suddenly being knocked off. Madeline powers through and shows us what it really means to be a Landry.

The thing I found most interesting about Landry Park and Jubilee Manor is their take on the typical dystopian novel. Normally we would be reading in the perspective of the oppressed rather than the oppressor. Landry Park was about the Rootless finding their freedom but we saw through the eyes of someone in the gentry. I thought that was an interesting take. Also in Jubilee Manor where other dystopias often end, with and we are free and are going to start rebuilding. Jubilee Manor actually takes on the struggle of rebuilding after gaining your freedom. It takes us past that ending you often see. I think the blurb on the first book mentions Gone With the Wind and you can definitely see some of that spirit injected here as well as history of the Civil War and the Reconstruction era that happened after. Empire is kind of like the carpetbaggers. Of course I say spirit because this is it’s own story.

I really liked what we see in Jubilee Manor as far as reconstruction. Madeline trying to navigate politics with her Uncle Jack but also the the strong family theme that is represented. We see Madeline find common ground with her father. Welcome new family members and even find that Landry Park is a part of her, no matter where she goes. The murder mystery was interesting. I always like a good mystery and I thought there were plenty of viable suspects. It could be anyone which made the reveal great. Sometimes they were take one step forward and two steps back. Of course there is also Madeline and David’s relationship with it’s ups and downs. Personally I was like eh you don’t need him.

I’m not going to lie. I was kind of iffy about David at the end of Landry Park. I just felt like he was kind of a putz and not really reliable. I know that’s not nice but I was almost rooting for Jude, even though I was kind of iffy on him too. So the romance for me in Jubilee Manor was more of a side thing and I think that is how it is portrayed. Madeline is such a strong character with so much going on, I can’t imagine her spending time gushing about her love interest, which she doesn’t. There are definitely cute romantic parts too though. So don’t worry they are in there, for me it wasn’t the focus and I wasn’t worried about it.

I loved Madeline. She is such a great character because she doesn’t make decisions idly but she is also not always right. She is a young girl but she has been raised to be a leader and when push comes to shove. She really takes on the role. I think she finds she is stronger than she even realized she is. She wants to help the rootless but she also has to make her own adjustment to how life is changing. She has lived one way for almost eighteen years, she also needs to change gears. She always tries to be empathetic and compassionate.

I really liked the book and it takes a great combination of dystopia and history, fusing them together. I can’t say which book I liked more but reading them together really makes for a seamless story and since they are both out you can do just that.