Match Book
The Kingdom of Back
Marie Lu
2019 · Young adult
How it reads
The Kingdom of Back is young adult (historical fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is melancholy. It's quietly sad, wistful and reflective. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in an international setting, in the historical past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are art and creativity, family and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something melancholy
- you want a complete story in one book
- you're drawn to stories about art and creativity
Maybe not if…
- you need something funny or hopeful
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- young adult
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- international
- Setting: time
- historical
- Mood / feeling
- melancholy
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- first person, one narrator
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Ending style
- bittersweet
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Everyone We've BeenSarah EverettShares: young adult, melancholy mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
Alice I Have BeenMelanie BenjaminShares: melancholy mood, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending- Anatomy of a MisfitAndrea PortesShares: young adult, melancholy mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueV.E. SchwabShares: melancholy mood, balanced tone, historical fantasy, moderate pace
- All the Bad ApplesMoïra Fowley-DoyleShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, set in international
Goddess of YesterdayCaroline B. CooneyShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending
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