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shanwowww's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
emmadkreads's review
4.0
I've loved all the books I've read by Jennifer Donnelly, so I decided to give this YA novel a try. To be honest, I almost gave up after a few pages, but I'm glad I didn't. Donnelly writes about two young women, Andi, in 21st century Brooklyn, and Alexandrine, in 18th century Paris. After Andi stumbles upon Alexandrine's diary she discovers amazing parallels between their lives and becomes obsessed with Alex's story. Not a light-hearted book, but definitely worth a read!
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I didn't hate this book. I felt completely indifferent to it. I have saying that too because I love ms Donnelly's books. This one just did nothing for me. I didn't like the main character. Yes I realize she experienced something traumatic, but her attitude itself was infuriating. Singing over the phone to a guy you just met? Weird. Insta love? Nope... I can buy it in other novels but not this one
I did enjoy the story from the diary. And the trip through the catacombs was interesting. Honestly wish the first few hundred pages were cut in half and more time was spent in the catacombs. That was interesting. The ending was abrupt and felt like the author ran over her page allotment and had to summarize the rest of her novel.
Tldr: read any of her other books. They're great. This one is not her best work. Unless you're obsessed with music. Then this may be perfect for you.
I didn't hate this book. I felt completely indifferent to it. I have saying that too because I love ms Donnelly's books. This one just did nothing for me. I didn't like the main character. Yes I realize she experienced something traumatic, but her attitude itself was infuriating. Singing over the phone to a guy you just met? Weird. Insta love? Nope... I can buy it in other novels but not this one
I did enjoy the story from the diary. And the trip through the catacombs was interesting. Honestly wish the first few hundred pages were cut in half and more time was spent in the catacombs. That was interesting. The ending was abrupt and felt like the author ran over her page allotment and had to summarize the rest of her novel.
Tldr: read any of her other books. They're great. This one is not her best work. Unless you're obsessed with music. Then this may be perfect for you.
dgodek's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
akublik's review
3.0
A good read, although I'm still not sure what I think about the "Purgatory" section. Seems a bit contrived to me. Read for my YA book club.
janina_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This is actually a very hard review for me to write. Or, more precisely – it is actually very hard for me to make up my mind about this book.
What I loved:
What I found weird and/or annoying:
I am finding it hard to make up my mind if I should let those 50 pages around the end destroy the great experience reading this book was for me. On a total account, I have to say that the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones. Despite its size, I finished the book rather quickly. When I put it down, I was always looking forward to picking it up again (with the exception of the before mentioned chapters at the end). I would recommend it for history fans and history sceptics (like me) alike. And I’ll definitely be reading more by Donnelly. All in all, I would say I loved the book. Still, some of the stuff that happened towards the end leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
What I loved:
- The French Revolution not as a political event that shaped nations and changed history, but as an event that shaped people, affected them personally and changed their lives. The French Revolution looked at from a different side, from the perspective of someone who was close to the king – loyal, but not for political reasons. Alexandrines story was captivating and achingly sad – a bittersweet ‘love story’ in a way, but without the happy ending. Together with Andi, I desperately hoped that there would be some kind of solution, but sadly, what’s in the past can’t be changed now.
If you like personal accounts of historic events, this should be for you! I am not a historic fiction fan myself, but this story was just great. It has definitely made me interested in reading more about this revolution that has had such a great effect on our world as a whole, but especially on the people of France.
- Andi’s love of music and the important role it played in her life – not being able to play an instrument or hear music the way she does, it was great to discover and feel her dedication and admiration through Donnelly’s words.
- Virgil. Sigh. Definitely a contender for my fictional crushes list ;).
- The way things turned out at the end. Not perfect, not happily-ever-after happy, but just right.
- Paris. The atmosphere Donnelly created just felt so similar to my personal experience and if Rémy’s actually existed, I would love to spend some time there. The parts that played in the Paris of the late 1700s had a very real feel to them as well. I could sense the desperation and the hope the people felt. I could imagine the dirty streets and the bloody raids. I could see the splendour and gold of the royal palaces on one side, and the misery and hunger the common people lived in on the other. It almost was as if I was there myself, and I think that’s the greatest compliment you can give in cases such as this!
What I found weird and/or annoying:
- Andi moping around the whole time at the beginning. I mean, I got it, she was hurt and she felt guilty. She didn’t want to live anymore. But she was extremely whiny and made sure everyone noticed how much she suffered in this I-don’t-care-about-you-don’t-you-dare-care-about-me way that annoyed me to no end. This got a lot better as the story progressed, but the first couple of chapters, she was actually very hard to take.Spoiler
- The time warp twist shortly before the end. Okay, it wasn’t revealed if it was actually a time warp or if it was just a drug-induced hallucination, but it felt very time-warpy. And it totally changed the tone of the story. I wouldn’t have needed this kind of resolution. It felt weirdly out of place and I was reluctant to even read it.
I am finding it hard to make up my mind if I should let those 50 pages around the end destroy the great experience reading this book was for me. On a total account, I have to say that the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones. Despite its size, I finished the book rather quickly. When I put it down, I was always looking forward to picking it up again (with the exception of the before mentioned chapters at the end). I would recommend it for history fans and history sceptics (like me) alike. And I’ll definitely be reading more by Donnelly. All in all, I would say I loved the book. Still, some of the stuff that happened towards the end leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
reddyrat's review
5.0
Revolution is a must read for history lovers, music lovers, and contemporary fiction lovers. The book begins with Andi, a wealthy New York City senior in high school. She is angry at the world, particularly her father, and still devastated at the death of her brother a few years before. It sent Andi spiraling into a deep depression, which she treats with higher and higher doses of medication. Andi's father forces her to accompany him to Paris for Christmas break where she must work hard on her senior project to not fail out of school.
Andi's senior project seems boring at first. She is exploring how Mahlerbeau, a made-up composer, compares to and influenced modern music. He was the first composer to actively use atonal chords. The sections about Mahlerbeau become increasingly interesting as they become intertwined with the drama of the French Revolution and Alex's life.
In Paris, Andi discovers an ancient diary written by Alex, a girl about her age at the height of the French Revolution. The book now switches between Andi's modern life and Alex's horrific one. Alex was from a poor family that lucked out and functioned as court jesters for the royal family. Alex became especially close to little Louis XVII. Much of the diary details her increasingly dangerous attempts to do anything to bring happiness to the imprisoned little boy.
Meanwhile, we get to read about Andi's life. Like Andi, her parents are in a downward spiral. Her father throws himself into work and his new girlfriend, and her mother has been hospitalized for severe depression. Andi is staying with her parents' friends. G is a huge revolution fanatic. He is on the verge of identifying little Louis XVII's heart. We even get some love in this story. Andi meets Virgil, a talented musician and local cab driver. He comes from a very different background than Andi, but is upbeat and hopeful where she is desolate. He brings happiness into her life.
I love the voice in this book. Andi is depressed and bitter, which makes her hard to read - I definitely would not read this book on a day when you need to be cheered up. But I love Andi's dry wit and her skeptical outlook on life. Even though she isn't a joy to be around, I understood her pain and felt that her voice was reasonable given her story. I loved her friend Vijay and his "mom-isms." They were a little too frequent and smartly witty to be real, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.
My favorite voice was Alex. It is so, so difficult to do historical fiction well. Often, the author writes in a flowery style to fit the time period. This sets the atmosphere but does so at the expense of readability. Alex's voice was just as stark and clean as a modern character yet it didn't feel out of sync for its time. Rather, I was sucked into the story of a devastated young woman living in a terrible time. I wish more authors realized that a book can still feel "historical" without using fancy, stilted speech and spending inordinate amount of time describing the scenery.
Revolution was a beautiful, well-written book. It's a little long, but once you get into it, you'll savor every page.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Andi's senior project seems boring at first. She is exploring how Mahlerbeau, a made-up composer, compares to and influenced modern music. He was the first composer to actively use atonal chords. The sections about Mahlerbeau become increasingly interesting as they become intertwined with the drama of the French Revolution and Alex's life.
In Paris, Andi discovers an ancient diary written by Alex, a girl about her age at the height of the French Revolution. The book now switches between Andi's modern life and Alex's horrific one. Alex was from a poor family that lucked out and functioned as court jesters for the royal family. Alex became especially close to little Louis XVII. Much of the diary details her increasingly dangerous attempts to do anything to bring happiness to the imprisoned little boy.
Meanwhile, we get to read about Andi's life. Like Andi, her parents are in a downward spiral. Her father throws himself into work and his new girlfriend, and her mother has been hospitalized for severe depression. Andi is staying with her parents' friends. G is a huge revolution fanatic. He is on the verge of identifying little Louis XVII's heart. We even get some love in this story. Andi meets Virgil, a talented musician and local cab driver. He comes from a very different background than Andi, but is upbeat and hopeful where she is desolate. He brings happiness into her life.
I love the voice in this book. Andi is depressed and bitter, which makes her hard to read - I definitely would not read this book on a day when you need to be cheered up. But I love Andi's dry wit and her skeptical outlook on life. Even though she isn't a joy to be around, I understood her pain and felt that her voice was reasonable given her story. I loved her friend Vijay and his "mom-isms." They were a little too frequent and smartly witty to be real, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.
My favorite voice was Alex. It is so, so difficult to do historical fiction well. Often, the author writes in a flowery style to fit the time period. This sets the atmosphere but does so at the expense of readability. Alex's voice was just as stark and clean as a modern character yet it didn't feel out of sync for its time. Rather, I was sucked into the story of a devastated young woman living in a terrible time. I wish more authors realized that a book can still feel "historical" without using fancy, stilted speech and spending inordinate amount of time describing the scenery.
Revolution was a beautiful, well-written book. It's a little long, but once you get into it, you'll savor every page.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
villianess's review
5.0
I found this book riveting and I don't say that about a lot of books. It is set in modern and eighteenth century. The author moves you between the two with mystery, intrigue, and history wrapped in a wonderful tale of healing, death, and trials. It was an easy read, as I couldn't wait to turn another page.