Revolution

Recommended grades 7-10.  A love for all things historical pushed me to read Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution (Delacorte, 2010).  Donnelly draws from extensive research on the French Revolution and the family of Louis XVI to craft the dual narratives of 18th century actress-turned-radical-royalist Alexandrine and 21st century aficionado of teen-angst and musical theory Andi.

On the whole, the concept was fascinating.  Even those well-versed in French history can appreciate the depth of description and characterization of this most chaotic period.  The royalist perspective is rarely explored with such clear sympathy in the heroic narrative of liberté, egalité, fraternité.  


That said, the pace and flow of the novel left much to be desired.  Far too much time was spent on Andi's self-pitying diatribe, which even angsty teens themselves will be annoyed by.  In trying to speak for her audience, Donnelly may insult and alienate them.  There are so many aspects of this novel Donnelly may well have explored without wasting the vast majority of the novel on unmoving points and unconvincing relationships.

Ambivalent recommendation, ***

Retro Mystery- American Girl Style

Recommended grades 4-6.  The American Girls have gone far out with Julie, a girl living in San Francisco during the groovy 1960's and 70's.  In The Secret Guitar (American Girl Publishing, 2011), part of the Julie Mystery Series, Julie and her friends must find a stolen guitar that belonged to (fictional) rock star, Danny Kendricks.  The guitar is part of a charity auction for a recent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay that is devastating the marine life.  Author Kathryn Reiss drew her inspiration from her own childhood, though as a piece of historical fiction, it is unconvincing.  Reiss creates fictional versions of people and events (Jimi Hendrix, the Exxon oil spill) instead of using their real life counterparts.  This is confusing, and ultimately doesn't achieve what great historical fiction should do- teach readers about actual historical time periods using a combination of fact and fiction.  Reiss's words capture feeling and fiction, and she includes a quick historical afterword connecting the story to history.   Ultimately, the story would have been much more valuable to readers had she written within the true 1960s instead of creating a fictional parallel.  Additional Selection, **