An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.
Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.
Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.
With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.
This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love.
- Title: One for All
- Author: Lillie Lainoff
- Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication Date: March 8th, 2022
- Genre: Fantasy, Retelling
- Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley
- Targeted Age Range: Young Adult.
- Content Warnings: ableism, internalized ableism, implied sexual assault, blood
- Rating: ★★★★★
Set in 1655, One For All follows sixteen year old Tania de Batz as she sets out to solve her father’s murder, save France, and find herself — not entirely in that order. For most of Tania’s life, fencing has been a way for her to connect deeply with her father, and a source of strength. She feels most like herself when fencing, despite being labeled as a weak, “sick girl” by those in her community. While her mother is desperate to marry Tania off for security, Tania wants nothing less. She wants to be just like her father; a former Musketeer, strong, and brave. After her father is mysteriously murdered, Tania is told that her father’s dying wish was for her to attend L’Académie des Mariées, a finishing school. But once she’s there, Tania quickly realizes that L’Académie des Mariées isn’t just a finishing school. Rather, it’s a secret training ground for a new generation of Musketeers: women who appear to be socialites in order to gather information, and protect France from downfall. The L’Académie des Mariées presents two opportunities: a chance for Tania to follow in her father’s footsteps, and more importantly, to solve his murder. With her Musketeers by her side, Tania must learn how to lean on her friends, listen to her body, and decide where her loyalties are, before it’s too late.
One for All has been on my TBR forever. It was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it! The minute I heard that it was a The Three Musketeers retelling, I was already amped — after all, I’ve never read a retelling of The Three Musketeers. Add in swords, a strong sisterhood, and historical fiction — What more could a girl want?
From the very beginning, I already knew that I’d love Tania. Tania is so strong, and watching her grapple with her grief, settle into a world that’s unknown to her, and learn how to lean on other people made for such a lovely story. My heart broke for Tania and all the times she was called weak or a sick girl, and every time she was belittled and bullied. Tania feels so much, and I loved how she was anything but a weak girl. She was a fully fleshed out character, who was allowed to feel a range of emotions, and I just adored her.
One of my favorite things about One for All was the strong friendships, or as Lainoff has taken to calling it “The Sisterhood of the Stab Stab”. Watching Aria, Portia, and Thèa accept Tania into their little family, support and take care of her was simply heartwarming. Even more so, since I absolutely adored the three of them. Curious Thèa, who is what you’d get if you combined sunshine with a golden retriever puppy, witty and clever Portia, and Aria, who is guarded and fiercely loyal, all stole my heart, and I’d love to read sequels — or spinoffs — about them too. Each character had their own strengths and their own flaws, and they just felt so real.
Immersing myself into the world of One for All was like second nature. Lainoff’s worldbuilding made me feel like I had transported to 1655 France myself, and I could easily picture myself following along Tania and her fellow Musketeers, sneaking around, and eavesdropping at balls. Lainoff does a delightful job of providing the reader with historical context as well, so those that might not be as familiar with the time period won’t miss out.
One for All is a stunningly written debut novel. Lainoff’s writing style was so easy to read, and I flew through the novel. I’m so excited to go back and reread it upon its release, as I’m sure I missed out on several hints. I sat there with my mouth open every time a new twist was revealed, and went “Well, in hindsight, that makes perfect sense. I wonder why I didn’t notice that before.” I enjoyed figuring out everything with Tania, and everything really just worked so well.
As I don’t have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, I highly recommend checking out ownvoices reviews, such as this one or this one.
If you’re looking for a book with strong sisterhood, an intriguing mystery, and an immersive worldbuilding, I couldn’t recommend One for All more highly! Have you read it yet? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!
Links for One for All: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Lillie Lainoff is a writer, a fencer, and now, a writer who writes about fencing. She doesn’t understand why her parents gave a clumsy eight-year-old a saber, but she’s thankful for it every day. She grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from Yale University in 2018, where she was managing editor of the Yale Daily News Magazine and a writing partner at the Yale Writing Center, as well as a Div I athlete and NCAA Championship competitor. She is the founder of Disabled Kidlit Writers. Her writing has received awards from the Los Angeles Review, Glimmer Train, and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and has been featured in The Washington Post Outlook and Washington City Paper, amongst other places. She received her MA in Creative Writing Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. One for All, her debut novel, will be published by FSG in 2022.
