Book Review | Revolution | Jennifer Donnelly

Title: Revolution
Author: Jennifer Donnelly (web | twitter)
Genre: Historical Fiction YA, Contemporary YA
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Release date: October 12, 2010
Source: ARC from BEA (Umm…that’s BEA 2010)

Summary: From the privileged streets of modern Brooklyn to the heart of the French Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.
 PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

So I’ve been sitting on this ARC for almost two years now, and I’ve always meant to read it, especially after hearing such great things about it and Jennifer Donnelly’s historical fiction novels. When I was looking for something to read this past holiday, REVOLUTION kept giving me mental bookish pokes, and I couldn’t hold off anymore. I love historical fiction, friends, but it sometimes gets pushed aside in favor of other things and genres that are more of the moment. Which is crap, to be honest. I picked up REVOLUTION with great anticipation, looking forward to getting taken in, and with TONS of excitement about the French Revolution angle (a favorite time period of mine). Jennifer Donnelly didn’t let me down one bit.

REVOLUTION tells two stories: That of Andi Alpers, modern-day girl struggling with grief after her younger brother’s death and her parents’ divorce; and Alexandrine Paradis, a young girl living in the violent, turbulent days of the French Revolution leading up to the execution of King Louis XVI and his family. Andi is visiting Paris with her estranged father when she stumbles upon Alexandrine’s diary and winds up in the middle of a centuries-old mystery surrounding the King and Marie Antoinette’s youngest son, Louis, the Dauphin. The two storylines begin to blur as Andi works on her high school thesis on a Revolutionary (in both meanings of the word) French composer, Amade Malherbeau. Juicy!

Jennifer Donnelly’s story is largely Andi’s, and Andi’s story is actually pretty dark. Her whole life can be split into two periods: Before her younger brother Truman’s death, and after. Her dad–a world-renowned geneticist–left her French artist mother not long after, and the only way Andi can deal with her own grief and guilt and her mother’s gradual descent into mental instability, is with drugs. Drugs that sometimes give her hallucinations. EEP! But in all honesty, I wasn’t anticipating REVOLUTION to be so intense and emotional. Andi’s grief is real and dangerous in a lot of ways, and very, very sad. Her story isn’t light-hearted, which I actually appreciated quite a bit. I can’t imagine dealing well with the things she’s going through.

I did very much enjoy the way Jennifer Donnelly wove music into REVOLUTION. Andi is kind of fanatical about it in a really cool, interesting way. She understands the structure of it, not just the way things sound pretty. Plus, the drafting of her senior thesis on Amade Malherbeau was a big part of her story and of the way she interacted with her father while they were in Paris. It gave her focus. Plus, Amade Malherbeau sounds like an incredibly interesting guy. It was a shame, then, to discover that he is, in fact, one of the more blatant fictions in REVOLUTION. The way Andi went on about his…um…revolutionary advances in guitar compositions was catching. I LOVE music, friends, but Andi’s love and appreciation surpasses my own in the best way. Sure, she’s kind of a hipster about it, listening to Radiohead all the time and whatnot, but I liked this angle a lot, and I loved seeing Paris with Andi as she researched him.

Plus, let’s not give short shrift to Virgil, the BOY. He’s got music in his veins, too, and he and Andi get each other on that level that only people who share passions can reach. I liked him and their relationship and the way their musical bond became something more. I could’ve done without the rap lyrics, though. Guys, one thing I will always skip in a book is song lyrics. I will legit not even skim them. Get me back to the story, please. But thumbs up for Virgil.

It’s a good thing, too, that I enjoy diary entries, because that’s the only way we get to meet and know Alexandrine. I LOVED reading her story and her fervent affection for King Louis’ youngest son. Jennifer Donnelly did a great job with the atmosphere of revolutionary France: the fear, the anxiety, the terror, the hopelessness, the brutality. Revolutions, I think, are pretty impressive things and are beautiful in their own way. In hindsight. Seeing this world through Alex’s eyes made it real though, and as sad as Andi’s story in a lot of ways. Especially once you realize how things will end of Alex and her attempts to rescue the Dauphin from his jailers. I thought the way the two girls’ stories wound together in REVOLUTION was deftly done.

REVOLUTION is not a small book, friends, and yet I couldn’t really put it down. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it and was immersed in it when I was. Being a sucker for revolutions, I’ll always be interested in reading more books about them, but the French Revolution in particular is a soft spot for me. (That and the American Revolution, obvs.) If historical fiction is your thing, Jennifer Donnelly’s REVOLUTION is as good a bet, or even better, as any out there. I need to dig through her catalog ASAP.