When I was in High School I read a book by Jennifer Donnelly called A Northern Light. It was brand new at the time, and it was her only book. It was one of the very first historical novels I read, and it may even be the very book that sparked my love of historical fiction. I was so bummed it was her only book. Since then she has written two historical novels Tea Rose and Winter Rose, but I had no idea until now. (I can't wait to read them!)
Over a month ago we received the fall Kids Indie Next Picks List at work. The top book happens to be a brand new Young Adult novel by Jennifer Donnelly, and I had to wait weeks to get my hands on it. So naturally, I finished it in 4 days!
Revolution is about Andi, a 17 year old senior at a prestigious art academy in Brooklyn. She is a rebellious, wounded person because of her younger brothers death which sparked a series of events that completely unraveled her family. Her brother died, her dad left, and her artist mother couldn't cope so she went numb to the world. Andi deals with her pain through her music and drugs.
When her father receives a call from her school informing him that she is neglecting her senior thesis, and failing school, he decides to take her with him to Paris for her 3 week Christmas break so she can work on her thesis. Once in Paris, Andi learns that her geneticist father is there to help his historian friend identify whether a preserved heart believed to belong to the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette really did belong to the lost prince of France. Andi becomes emotionally involved in the research when she learns that Prince Louis-Charles was trapped in a tower during the Revolution and basically starved to death. He was the same age as her brother when he died.
Andi stumbles across an old diary that belonged to a young girl, Alexandrine, who was hired by Marie Antoinette to be a companion for young Louis-Charles during the Revolution. Alex wrote the diary in the last few months that she and Louis-Charles were alive. At the time, Louis-Charles was imprisoned in a tower and she was doing everything she could to try to save him. As Andi reads the diary she becomes increasingly attached to it and to the young prince.
Donnelly has written another fabulous historical novel. She weaves plenty of fictional characters and events into it, while at the same time immersing her audience in Revolution period France. She also writes a lot about music because Andi is a guitar player. I found it very entertaining and educational. Andi was not a character I felt like I could relate to, and the book did feel a little young at times. But it's perfect for High School. And still a very good read for anyone.
Buy a Jennifer Donnelly novel
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