Alternate history fans will love this book! And with some sci-fi elements this book will appeal to a large audience. For readers who enjoyed the TimeRiders series by Alex Scarrow, The Only Thing to Fear is a must-read. Because this is a story about war, clearly the reader anticipates violence, but author Caroline Tung Richmond finds the perfect balance by not making things too graphic while still tastefully getting the point across. I love the unlikely heroine and Ms. Richmond does a phenomenal job of developing villains one can’t help but hate. One would never be able to tell that this is Richmond’s debut novel because she is a fantastic writer; I hope to see more of her work in the near future. 

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  4 religious profanities; 3 scatological words (in German).

Violence/Gore:  Many (33) brief incidents including vandalism; verbal threats; violent dreams; character wanting to harm another; second hand reports of characters being beat; second hand reports of characters being killed; character accidentally electrocutes another; characters are beat; character tortured and killed then skeleton hung out for all to see; non-detailed scenes of murder; one detailed incident of an attack resulting in the destruction of property and death of many.

Sex/Nudity:  Several (13) brief incidents including holding hands; hug; kiss; arms around; touching back; character looks at and touches another suggestively; reference to homosexuality; innuendo; unmarried girl gets pregnant.

Mature Subject Matter:

War, torture, neglect, mistreatment, murder.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Character drinks beer; characters drink alcohol for a celebration.