Jennifer Donnelly

An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.

Revolution

When an angry, grieving musician faces expulsion from her private school, she travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution.

Annika Arguemore

I cannot explain the brilliance of this book ok? it's all so surreal. it's quite informative, really. if you like World History, like myself, you may find this book interesting even though it's super long.

Sparrow Hall

This book had me in tears. It really made me think a lot, and though I don't approve of the way Andi deals with her pain, I like the way it is written. I would definitely read this book again.

Erin

Revolution - Jennifer Donnelly

Synopsis: 

Andi Alpers’ life is in shambles after the loss of her ten year-old brother, Truman. The pills keep the sadness away, but not forever, and she relies heavily on her music to escape. And with her father gone, her mother’s inability to cope, and the fact that she blames herself for her brother’s death, Andi has a lot to escape.  After receiving word from her school that she’s failing, Andi’s father comes to take her away to Paris, where he’s working on an important project. While this would be a dream come true for anyone else, it’s a nightmare for Andi...until she discovers a diary from the time of the French revolution, written by a girl named Alexandrine.
Andi connects with Alexandrine in a way she never imagined, finding comfort in her story of courage and loyalty in a tumultuous time.  She even finds a way to enjoy her time in Paris.
But suddenly, after an especially hard night, Andi finds herself in the most unlikely situation, and now she must find a way home as well as find herself again.

What I Liked:

Much like Andi, it was so easy for me to get into this book and get lost in it.
Andi’s a mess, and she’s not the most lovable main character, but she’s real, and it’s not all that difficult to relate to her
Well-written historical fiction with fantasy elements!!

What I Disliked:

Andi sometimes? but, again, really that's just a testament to how well-written and complicated this girl is.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Samantha Flannelly

3.75 stars to be exact 
The writing style wasn't my favorite. some of the dialogue was disney-esque and the descriptions weren't as flushed out as i would've liked but the plot was so so good i couldn't stop reading.

Alexandra Mellas

Original Language: English
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 9780385737630
Page Count: 496
Jennifer Donnelly's most recent novel, Revolution, is an emotional rollercoaster. It is angry, it is bitter, it is depressed and it is desperate. Andi begins as an obnoxious narrator. She heavily drugs herself to get through every day, and the only thing that brings her to life is her music. Music is her obsession, and unfortunately no one seems to care.

From the beginning it is clear that Donnelly has done her homework. The descriptions of the music, the historical links between modern and Revolutionary Paris are fascinating and hypnotic. Through Andi we experience the underground of Paris, the lesser travelled paths than the traditional tourist sites. Through Alexandrine we see the stark contrasts between the poverty stricken streets of Paris and the lush luxuries of the Palias-Royal. 

To begin with, Andi's depression is a cancer. It eats away at her and everything she thinks or feels. Every reaction is tempered, somehow, by her brother's death. But slowly, through Alexandrine's diary, Andi begins to live again as she sees hope for another little boy, one who lived 200 years ago.

The time warp through me for a loop. Despite having read the blurb, I wasn't ready for it. It didn't feel right. On paper (or powerpoint) Amade Malherbeau(a composer created for the novel) seemed like filler content; an outlet for her musical passions. It wasn't until Purgatory (Part Two) that Amade had any substance, and suddenly there was a new beauty to his music. When Andi experiences Revolutionary Paris all the events become real. The little boy in the tower becomes real. As Purgatory continued the seams of the story began to weave together and gained a deeper meaning. It gave Andi a chance to be reborn, a chance to live again.

Donnelly has created a wonderful mixture of past and present, music and science in her latest young adult novel: Revolution. I recommend it to anyone who loves historical fantasy or music.

Judy McClure

Totally awesome book!! Couldn't leave it alone.
It's going to be very hard to get the characters
from this book out of my head when it's time to 
pick out my next read.

Jade Flynn

A riveting genre-busting tale of revolution and redemption....basically, a book after my own heart.

Revolution

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