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A review by brooke_review
Everything That Burns by Gita Trelease
4.0
History and fantasy magically combine in Gita Trelease’s Enchantée series! This magical realism take on the French Revolution is the perfect duology for lovers of both historical fiction and fantasy for its richly imagined rewriting of France’s past featuring a plucky heroine.
The Enchantée series opens with the novel All That Glitters (formerly titled Enchantée in some versions), and tells the story of how poverty-stricken orphan Camille Durbonne uses her secret magical powers to transform herself into an elegant lady of the French court and provide for herself and her sister by winning at the card tables at Versailles. Now in Everything That Burns, Camille is living a life of comfort, but Paris is up in arms amidst the French Revolution. Camille does what she can to help the Revolution by creating pamphlets that tell the true stories of some of the marginalized girls of Paris, but when her pamphlets become a roaring success, she can’t help but wonder if magic is playing a part in her life once again. When King Louis XVI makes a proclamation outlawing magic, Camille worries that time is running out, not only for herself, but for those she loves.
All That Glitters and Everything That Burns are a perfect literary yin and yang. While All That Glitters is heavy on the magic and light on the history, Everything That Burns is just the opposite, delving deeper into the French Revolution with just sprinkles of magic here and there. These books complement each other well, and each provide a different reading experience, yet are both focused on the same characters and setting.
I personally picked up Everything That Burns because I loved the world that Trelease created in All That Glitters and I wanted more of it. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed on that front because as previously stated, magic takes a backseat to history in this sequel. Despite this, however, Everything That Burns is still an interesting, well-written novel that can be enjoyed by both teens and adults. Trelease vividly captures the chaotic atmosphere of Paris and translates it to the page in a way that is accessible to readers. She writes a strong and determined heroine in that of Camille, and presents her in such a way that readers can both relate and aspire to.
On the other hand, the plot of Everything That Burns does slow down at points and becomes less than interesting. I did find my attention waning in parts of the novel. Add in the multiple subplots, and the main storyline becomes difficult to follow because readers don’t know where they should be looking. As readers will likely be picking up Everything That Burns after reading All That Glitters, this can prove to be a problem if they aren’t prepared for the heavier, denser plot and tone that this sequel provides.
The Enchantée series opens with the novel All That Glitters (formerly titled Enchantée in some versions), and tells the story of how poverty-stricken orphan Camille Durbonne uses her secret magical powers to transform herself into an elegant lady of the French court and provide for herself and her sister by winning at the card tables at Versailles. Now in Everything That Burns, Camille is living a life of comfort, but Paris is up in arms amidst the French Revolution. Camille does what she can to help the Revolution by creating pamphlets that tell the true stories of some of the marginalized girls of Paris, but when her pamphlets become a roaring success, she can’t help but wonder if magic is playing a part in her life once again. When King Louis XVI makes a proclamation outlawing magic, Camille worries that time is running out, not only for herself, but for those she loves.
All That Glitters and Everything That Burns are a perfect literary yin and yang. While All That Glitters is heavy on the magic and light on the history, Everything That Burns is just the opposite, delving deeper into the French Revolution with just sprinkles of magic here and there. These books complement each other well, and each provide a different reading experience, yet are both focused on the same characters and setting.
I personally picked up Everything That Burns because I loved the world that Trelease created in All That Glitters and I wanted more of it. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed on that front because as previously stated, magic takes a backseat to history in this sequel. Despite this, however, Everything That Burns is still an interesting, well-written novel that can be enjoyed by both teens and adults. Trelease vividly captures the chaotic atmosphere of Paris and translates it to the page in a way that is accessible to readers. She writes a strong and determined heroine in that of Camille, and presents her in such a way that readers can both relate and aspire to.
On the other hand, the plot of Everything That Burns does slow down at points and becomes less than interesting. I did find my attention waning in parts of the novel. Add in the multiple subplots, and the main storyline becomes difficult to follow because readers don’t know where they should be looking. As readers will likely be picking up Everything That Burns after reading All That Glitters, this can prove to be a problem if they aren’t prepared for the heavier, denser plot and tone that this sequel provides.