Review: Revolution - Jennifer Donnelly

Where I got it: ARC For review from publisher
Rating: 4 stars 
Cover Rating: 4 stars 
Genre: Young Adult 
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 472 p.

Andi's brother is dead. Andi's father left. Andi's mother is not coping with either of these things at all and Andi isn't doing too much better. All the Qwells Andi takes don't always ease the pain and sadness. Her father comes into her life one day to set her mom up in a mental institution and take Andi to Paris with him on business so she can do her school outline, so she doesn't flunk out. Andi is not at all excited about this idea and even Paris can't make her feel better, until she finds the diary. The diary belongs to one Alexandrine Paradis who lived to centuries ago in the middle of the French Revolution. Andi is intrigued by the parallels in their lives and is obsessed with finding out how Alex's story plays out.

This was a very slow book to get into. I nearly put it down when I was about 50 pages into it. I don't know if it was my mood or what, but I could just not empathize with Andi at all in the beginning. But, I was really interested to read about the diary that she finds and I always enjoy historical type fiction. This book was very historical and it was interesting to have some insight into the French Revolution that I did not get from school work. I really liked the relationships that Andi creates. Paris does seem grunge-y and romantic the was Jennifer Donnelly portrays it in the novel. Andi is obsessed with music, which is what her thesis is about. She plays music, she sings, she hangs out with people who play or sing. Music helps Andi relax and makes her a little happy and helps her express herself in the only way she feels she can. I'm very glad I kept reading, because the more obsessed Andi got with Alex's diary the more obsessed I became. I loved hearing Alex's tales of woe and triumph. It was great when Alex surprised herself with how much she really cared for the royal son, even though she told herself that she would not and did not. The ending was very strange and I'm still not sure which reality I believed happened. Of course if you haven't read the book it makes no sense what I'm talking about, but just don't feel alone if in the last few chapters you're saying "What?!?!? well which is it, was it real or was it all in her head?" This was a great novel about learning how to deal with the pain of having loss someone and feeling like it was all your fault. Although at times I wanted to just strangle Andi, she was a pretty decent (very depressed) teenager, who was just struggling with the weight of a lot of crap on her shoulders. I suggest that if you like historical fiction or novels that are heavily laden with music check this one out.  

First Line:
"Those who can, do." 

Favorite Line:
"My cell phone goes off, buzzing against my cheek like some horrible giant bug."