Steph | bookedinsaigon's Reviews > The Apothecary

THE APOTHECARY is the kind of middle-grade historical thriller that younger audiences or readers who are interested more in the actions rather than the thoughts and motivations of characters will enjoy best. I couldn't help feeling like it relied a little too much on old-fashioned attitudes toward WWII-era enemies and allies in its portrayal of foreign characters. It was disconcerting to see Jin Lo, the Chinese chemist, portrayed as a beautiful, poised, elegant, and a little snooty woman who casually swoops in to save the clumsy citizens with her stunning brain and, oh, just so happens to be good at kung fu as well. She is like the MG historical fiction equivalent of the perfect--and perfectly exoticized--Asian female kung fu master character that seems like a necessity in martial arts films and is the stuff of socially awkward, anime-loving teenage boys' wet dreams. Ick.

Janie was a pretty decent protagonist who didn't degenerate into pity-me helplessness no matter how hard the story tried to force its characters into cardboard roles. Janie's parents' and their friends are the kind of nerdy, intelligent, and wacky-humored adults that I want more of, both in literature and in real life. Unfortunately, the story's determination to let its nonstop fast pace slip and slide around without regarding for natural character development meant that, despite how potentially awesome the characters were, I never connected to the characters or the story.