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Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite
Johanna Charo has had a rough life. Growing up, she's been in a group home with strict rules and pretty hostile caretakers. She's able to escape into books and her studies, hoping to leave it all behind as soon as she can by graduating early and going off to start her life somewhere else. However, that isn't on the cards because her group home refuses to let her take college classes, and she's too young to live on her own. Trapped, she longs for a way to escape for real, and finds one...but it may be more dangerous than it seems. C.A. Pack brings a real thriller to life with Becoming Johanna.
This book is a lot of backstory packed into an interesting novella. You get a TON of character development for Johanna, as well as the background of her life so far. Not fun...not fun at all for her, but you really feel for what she's going through and enjoy seeing where she's headed because of her enduring strength. It was clear that this novella is a part of a larger picture, and since I hadn't been part of that picture, there were a few sections when I felt that I would have appreciated the moment or the gravitas of the situation more if I knew more about the Library of Illumination series to begin with.
While the main series appears to be more "fantastical" in nature, this book was largely grounded in realism, including Josefina's troubling upbringing in the seemingly hostile environment of Peakie's Foundling Home. C.A. Pack is a talented author who is able to cram a lot of info into a small book and entertain while she's doing it.
