Review: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Summary
Emotional pain describes Andi's current existence since she lost her little brother. Only when she is playing music does the pain subside for a little while. Because she cares about nothing else, she's about to be expelled from her prestigious prep school, and in an effort to get Andi to do something, her Dad takes her to Paris. Andi discovers the diary of a girl who lived during the French Revolution, and in sharing the anguish of this long dead girl, she finds life again.

Commentary
The thread of music which runs through this entire book heightened the experience of reading this book. I definitely enjoyed although I'm not much of an audiophile. There are a lot of references to various composers, singers, and bands, but the references are by and large accessible.

I also really enjoyed what history of the French Revolution there was as well as the depictions of the various emotional states of the Royal family as well as the commoners. The diary format of the girl in the revolution really helped to delineate which story was happening and to give a very in-depth look into her anguish.

There is a lot of angst going on in this book some of which I think I could have done without. The ending also wrapped up a lot neater than I would have liked since it was one of those everyone wins happy endings.

In general, this is pretty different from the YA books I've read lately and that made it a lot more interesting. If you don't like a good deal of historical information and/or angst though, you might want to pass on it.

Star Rating: 3.5/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

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