Genre: Realistic / Historical Fiction
Worldcat Summary:
An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France. Bookskoetter Rating:=4/5
Bookskoetter Review:
Another great read! I was thrilled when I heard that this book had made it to the 2012-2013 Gateway nominee list. I was told that this novel fit in to the "historical fiction" genre, and was surprised when it began as a realistic fiction, angry-musician-with-issues novel. The previously mentioned angry girl is refreshingly intelligent, and finds a diary written by an important figure who lived during the French Revolution during her and her father's stay with a French historian in Paris. Forgive me for sounding cliche, but I have to say that Donnelly does a fantastic job of making history "come to life" for readers. The novel is a well-written, rich tale with characters that readers will be able to relate to. My only complaints are that the end ties together a little too nicely, and the protagonist can be annoying angsty at times. However, I would still recommend this novel, especially to fans of historical fiction, and to fans of novels featuring characters dealing with serious issues.
2 comments:
Agreed that she's a bit annoying (and tough to deal with to start!) and it does come together a bit nicely, but oh man is this book good! Not at all what I expected but I loved it. Have you read A Northern Light? It's one of my favorite YA reads!
Not yet, but it is on my (rather long) list of books to read!
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