red thunder, white night
read about haunting sci-fis and riveting romances in the latest and best book reviews!
Dear Petals,
Our next installment of the Wildflower Files are here! The Wildflower Files are your neighborhood friendly book reviews — written by teen girls from all across the world! Together, all these global voices join forces right here, right now, in The Petal Press. Read below to discover your new binge-read!
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
★★★★★
This book was AMAZING. I first discovered this book from one of my favourite book YouTubers, Freya Valerio, who I think has quite similar tastes in books as me. The Prison Healer is the first book in the series of three books. We follow Kiva Meridian who is a prisoner in Zalindov, an absolutely horrific place used to keep the worst kind of people. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat as Kiva seems to meet danger and difficult trials in every place.
The writing in this really stood out to me, I truly felt like I was going through it with Kiva, feeling the same fury and fears that she felt. Kiva’s character also feels very believable as someone who experienced such great loss at a young age and then was forced to grow up and mature prematurely. It also helps you understand her relationships better and the reason why she acts the way she does. On the note of relationships, there is a lovely romantic side to the plot which I found quite heartwarming.
As for the features of the book, I enjoyed the maps provided at the start as I often have difficulty envisioning how a country looks, and it’s always fun to look at fantasy maps. The dark pages also caught my interest when I first saw the book, and I am happy to say that I do think they were used well to illustrate how Kiva felt.
Honestly, I did not see the twist at the end coming at all, and it took me completely by surprise because it came so close to the ending of the book. Now that I know what has been revealed, it puts a completely different spin on some of the scenes, so I did start rereading it immediately after finishing it.
I absolutely love this book and the small preview of the sequel in it, and the rest of the series is already on its way to me. Although I am a little apprehensive of the sequel being too devastating for me, I am looking forward to reading it. I highly recommend this book, and I hope that if you do end up reading the Prison Healer, you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Princess & The Hustler by Chinonyerem Odimba
★★★★★
It was 1963 in Bristol when the British’ protest against Black rights caused Princess to realise what it truly means to be beautiful and black.
Set in England, the play follows the lives of a British-African family - Mavis (a single mother), Wendell Jr., and Phyllis Princess. Their father, Wendell, had walked out of their lives years back due to his fear of failure and irresponsibility to provide a steady living for his family. Everyone calls him the ‘Hustler’.
However, as he returns - pain, resentment , and unwanted memories erupt creating conflict and chaos. Everyone, including their neighbor, Margot is forced to confront the wounds he left behind. His sudden arrival is not just a shock to the family, but a test: of forgiveness, identity, and whether love can survive abandonment.
Princess, naive yet hopeful, clings to the fantasy of a father who will finally stay long enough to see her shine. Junior, hardened by years of disappointment, refuses to let Wendell’s charm hurt them again. And Mavis, exhausted from carrying the weight of the family alone, finds herself torn between the past she escaped and the future she longs for.
Amidst the rising tensions of the Bristol Bus Boycott, the play blends a child’s dream with a community’s fight for equality. Through heartbreak and healing, Princess discovers that beauty lies not in winning crowns but in embracing her identity, her roots, and the power of standing tall in a world determined to shrink her, and the race she belongs from.
Reading this play made me realise how deeply family and identity shape who we become. Princess’s journey felt painfully real — that mix of wanting to be seen, wanting to be loved, and wanting to belong. Her innocence reminded me how often children absorb the weight of adult mistakes. And the way the family navigates abandonment, forgiveness, and racial injustice made me reflect on how courage isn’t always loud; sometimes it’s simply choosing to rise again when life hands you every reason not to.
The play left me with one powerful truth: our worth isn’t decided by who shows up for us, but by how we show up for ourselves.
NieR Replicant Project Gestalt Recollections: File One by Jun Eishima and Yoko Taro
★★★★★
This is an adaptation of the hit video game series NieR specifically about the first game. I thought it was well written and didn’t assume that you had already played the game which I thought was a great move. It gives more insight into all the characters so if any part of this review sounds intriguing to you don’t worry about playing the game first because the book explains everything.
The book follows a young boy named Nier who is trying to protect his sister from the deadly disease called the Black Scrawl. What starts out as a brother’s desire to save his sister, turns into a journey that changes the fate of everyone around him. It’s a tale that makes you question the true meaning of humanity and all that encompasses it.
Besides the main character Nier, there were many other characters that were written very well. The mentor of Nier on this long journey of his is named Grimoire Weiss who is a floating book that bestows magic for Nier to wield. He is by far the funniest character as his regal and professional attitude contrasts the “foul-mouthed” Kainé who also joins Nier’s party at a certain point. I could probably go on and on about how much I love each and every character but to keep it short I’ll say this: if you care about reading books with characters you’ll actually remember and love this is the book for you.
It is a very quick read with memorable characters and plot. It can be funny but also pretty dark at times. It is fast paced and it is hard to put the book down. There is also a second book that wraps the story up. If you enjoy books that make you think about morality and have great plots I highly recommend this book.
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky
★★★★★
Dostoevsky’s writing is unmatched. His style is riveting, engrossing you within the story—White Nights is set apart from anything else I’ve read, as Dostoevsky stems away from the traditional story format, using an unconventional structure that emphasises psychological depth: the focus is not on the plot, but the characters’ extensive conversations, internal monologues and emotional journeys.
In White Nights, a lonely man, over the course of four nights, falls in love with Nastenka, a woman he connects with, who ultimately reunites with her former lover. Their story begins when the narrator sees her crying, asks her what is wrong, yet keeps walking. However, he hears a scream and intervenes to prevent some men harassing her. The story is told from the perspective of a nameless, solitary ‘Dreamer,’ where he delves into the consciousness of an isolated man who lives in his fantasies than reality. Dostoevsky’s description of the life of a dreamer draws parallels with his love interest, Nastenka. They dream, because of their real, present circumstances, only to fall in love in the aftermath.
Over the course of four nights, they agree to meet again at the same spot—a bridge in the small village of St. Petersburg. The narrator, timid and unused to talking to women, tells her he is dying in solitude and has no chance of success with her. Yet he finds solace in Nastenka’s presence and falls in love. Over the four nights, Nastenka tells him about her life and her former unrequited love and appreciates the narrator for not falling in love with her—though he is—and suggests he stays and their relationship might turn from platonic to romantic someday as she wants his companionship in her life. The narrator grows hope, but while they walk, they pass Nastenka’s former lover and she runs into his arms, returning briefly to kiss the narrator before journeying into the night, leaving him alone and heartbroken. He receives a letter from Nastenka the next morning where she apologises for hurting him and asks him to attend her marriage. However, the ending, rather than being tragic, represents how the narrator is consoled by a moment of genuine connection—even if it is short lived.
“But that I should feel any resentment against you, Nastenka! That I should cast a dark shadow over your bright, serene happiness! ...That I should crush a single one of those delicate blooms which you will wear in your dark hair when you walk up the aisle to the altar with him! Oh no — never, never! May your sky be always clear, may your dear smile be always bright and happy, and may you be forever blessed for that moment of bliss and happiness which you gave to another lonely and grateful heart ... Good Lord, only a moment of bliss? Isn’t such a moment sufficient for the whole of a man’s life?”
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
★★★★☆
Thunderhead is a science fiction novel written by the author, neal Shusterman. It is the second book of the Arc of the Scythe trilogy. Here is a brief summary of the book. Be warned that there can be spoilers concerning the first book.
Rowan, now Scythe Lucifer, is in hiding from the scythedom. After ‘receiving’ the year of immunity from Citra, Rowan made it his duty to rid the scythedom of corrupted scythes. On the other hand, Citra, now Anatasia, is now a junior scythe. Her style of gleaning and change now raised a few eyebrows in the scythedom. Her preferred method, however different, has now started to influence the new generation of junior scythes.
The future of the scythedom now lays in fragile balance as new, but dangerous ideas spread among the scythes. There are still people who are in support of Scythe Goddard and find his idea of gleaning as something enjoyable, but not as a duty. Now Scythe Anatasia and Rowan, must find a way to put things in order.
As much as I loved the idea and plot of the first book, Thunderhead was a little harder for me to get into. It’s clear from the first book that there’s quite a bit of thinking that you need. The whole plot has a little bit of a cross between a utopia and a dystopia. The need to understand the universe and have your opinion about it takes a lot of thinking. I do, however, find the characters realistic and real. They all have their own strengths and flaws. They were all written beautifully. Not only that, but the amount of twists and turns really kept the book going on the second half. Admittedly, I stayed to see the relationship between Cita and Rowan, as they had this rivals to friends thing going on. Overall, I’m very happy about the continuing of the series! This book would be amazing for readers who enjoy philosophy and science fiction.
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