A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

“As I gradually restore Words Like Silver to its archive of reviews written between 2011 and 2024, I'll aim to first and foremost make my reading history explorable by publishing the blurbs and short reflections as books cross my mind, with the goal of eventually transferring and fleshing out the original WLS content. For now, please enjoy this brief spotlight.”

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies. But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected. This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.

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I've read one or two of Moskowitz's contemporary reads—which I enjoyed, although I thought they were really gritty. This post-apocalyptic literary fairytale is no exception. You definitely have to have the stomach for it, yet Moskowitz writes in such a unique, engaging way that it makes me really wonder what goes on inside her head.

A History of Glitter and Blood is unlike anything else out there, and it fully commits to being odd and beautiful and weird. For that reason, I respect the hell out of it. It's fundamentally memorable.

This book makes you uncomfortable because of how thoroughly it tackles the issues. It's filled with so many raw ideas and so much emotion that it strips you of everything you have. While slow-paced, the elaborate world-building and complexity of each character kept me enthralled.

The fragmented writing style did it for me. As my blog name suggests, I seek silver-tongued writers, and Hannah Moskowitz fits the bill. Her poetic style and lithe, fearsome way of exploring her characters was gratifying to me. Still, it's definitely not for everyone. It's a history built by the characters, so there are notes and inserts and off-feeling sections that feel in some places like the narrative is unfinished or chaotic.

“There's a big difference between hating someone in peace and hating someone during war.”

And one more thing—the packaging? The team at Chronicle must be brilliant because there were little details: "glued in" pages, drops and scrapes on the pages, that built the character of the medium itself. What's more, that actually makes sense within the story.

It's a story that feeds directly off the book, and vice versa.

It's both heart-wrenching and fearsome, but rooted in such a slow-building fashion that it's not overwhelming. I don't think it'll appeal to everybody, but I think those who read it and commit to it will appreciate it. It's weird, but I loved it. Absolutely bizarre.