I am so ashamed that I did not read this earlier. How many times have I walked past this book and not realized what I treasure I had been missing out on. It was only because I passed by a copy of Revolution with a different cover did I pick it up to read this time round at the library. I had blankly no idea it was the same book I had walked past on the shelf for the past three years of my life. The shame of truly judging a book by its cover. *sigh I thought I was better than this.
This book harbored a simple uniqueness to it that I found highly appealing and interesting. The set/ presentation of the story simply flowed together. There was no rush for the plot to occur, it just magically laid itself out. Going through the book, I felt no forced plot line just a natural coherence and blending of all the ideas presented. The book was also set in three parts. It paralleled Dante's work the Divine Comedy as its sections were named: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. These three sections, clearly reflect the goings in the novel as the main character Andi goes from lost to found.
The main character Andi is a smart and real character. I was very glad she along with the rest of the book's cast was not dumbed down to the usual Young Adult, romance, genre. Just because I would like to read a book of the YA romance type, does not mean I seek brainless chick lit. I appreciate the success and appeal of a well developed cast of characters in a novel. Each character of Revolution could have been pulled out and written into their own separate story. I felt Andi's interaction with each of them was merely, her touching each of their lives while they move forward in their own separate tales.
I am a history fanatic and the amount of accurate history and facts in Revolution was astounding. It made me very satisfied. Sometimes novels screw up historical fact, and other factual information (unintentionally of course) which instantly irritates me. I like my history accurate and my facts clean. I think the accuracy in the research of an author reflects how much heart and effort she or he has put it. I feel writing a book is like raising a child. If you truly want the child to succeed you would make all best attempts to give the child the best possible foundation to set off in the right direction. This reflects to one's dedication in achieving the most accurate factual base for a historical fiction to build off of.
Also, the story of Alex's entwined fate with Louis Charles was killer. I could almost say her story was the most beautiful part of the book. The grace, passion, honor, and dignity shown in her character rings the word revolution. Alex was a character representation of what revolution is. I could cry every time I read the words Jennifer Donnelly placed into her mouth.
I also really appreciated the fact that Donnelly did not condemn the royal family: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their two children. She represented them as earthly people, who made human mistakes. It was simply fate and life that led to their destiny. They were not villains, just innocents blinded by luxury. And the poor, poor dauphin Louis Charles! A little boy whose heart lives on in a jar. *sigh, I tell you, history is but a big book of romanced tragedy.
Revolution conveyed a perfect story. It told so many stories apart from Andi's journey and touched upon many issues that could easily be reflected into the lives of a growing teenager. I would consider this book a painting crammed with the essence of the writer: of the world. I highly recommend this read. It's not heavy, like a classic novel, yet it harbors depth in meaning and beauty in literature.
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