Age: High School-Adult
Location: France
Music: Performance, guitar, classical
Tough Issue: Death of a family member
First Line: "Those who can, do."

A truly unique premise and execution, Donnelly provides a masterfully written young adult novel that tackles complex issues, an unusual plot, and a teen left in the throws of depression after her younger brother is killed. The majority of the book follows Andi as she battles her own inner demons that accuse her of letting her brother die. Her grades dropping, Andi's father forces Andi to come with him to France where he is doing research on the eighteenth century death of a boy prince who was starved to death during the French Revolution. Andi soon finds a hidden diary of Alexandrine Paradis, the prince's attendant, and is transported into a world of chaos, brutality, and fear through Alexandrine's writing.

Spoiler

Turns out, Andi's travels become real and she is physically transported to the end of the French Revolution. Is it all a side-effect of her anti-depression medication? In my opinion, I believe it was only a figment of her imagination spurred by her drugs and the tumble she took, but she truly did find truth and solace in her internal exploration. There were hints throughout about Andi's past experiences being reflected in her imagination. However, only through this introspection was she able to realize that even though the world is chaotic and unrelenting and repeats the mistakes of the past, she does not need to be.

Although the writing was phenomenal and the twist was a great "ah-ha!" moment, I could not feel for the pain of the prince in the tower. So many children were being submitted to inhumanities that I didn't understand why so many people were affronted by this one case. I also could not follow Alexandrine's love for the boy and her sudden shift to be his savior. So often was it repeated that A attended to the boy for selfish reasons.

But, all in all, a great book and just perfect for discussion or for high school book reports.