By Jennifer Donnelly
PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.
Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present”
Andi’s ten-year-old brother was killed in a tragic accident two years ago, and she blames herself. Overdosing on antidepressants is the only thing that helps her get through the day — most days. Some days she finds herself standing in front of oncoming traffic, or one step from the edge of a quick fate. Andi’s absentee father pays her no attention, and her mother is insane with grief. There’s nobody left in this world for Andi. Until she finds Alex.
Alex lived during the French Revolution, she was 17 when she wrote the diary Andi found. Seventeen and sure she was about to die. She tells a story of desperation and hope — tells of how she risked her very life to save someone she loved. A ten-year-old boy — the King’s son and heir — who was locked away in a tower to literally suffer to death by the revolutionists.
It’s a breathtakingly painful story, but it is so beautiful.
Andi’s progression through the book, the way she rises and plummets over the emotional roller coaster of grief are so dead on.
It is a sad story, yes, but not overwhelmingly so. There is hope — even when everything is lost, still there is hope for Andi. Hope for Alex.
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this book up. The first chapter was rather off-putting. I didn’t understand Andi’s character or why she was so incredibly depressed and angry. She is so, so angry. Plus the pretentious kids she goes to school with — well, I could live without them. But by the second chapter I was hooked and flying through pages.
This is a really thick book. 496 pages thick. But it is worth every single minute it takes to read.
Revolution is set to debut on October 12. Mark your calendars — this is a must read!
