The Red Necklace

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would actually give this book 3 1/2 stars. It is the story of a teenage boy, Yann, raised in France just before the start of the French Revolution. He and his guardian are gypsies who use real magic to entertain people at a theatre in Paris. One night they and the "magician" they work for are hired by an extremely vain and foolish marquis (at the behest of a very evil Count) to perform at a private party for some nobility. During their act, the Count murders the magician. With the help of the young, neglected daughter of the marquis, they barely escape the chateau alive.

To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that the Count has no intention of letting them live. Add in the onset of the Revolution, and you've got a bloody mess.

I think the book could have benefited from some sort of a map of the Paris/Versailles area. And maybe even a brief chronology of the French Revolution. But perhaps teenagers reading the book wouldn't care as much as I do about grasping the full context?

It was a really interesting book, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, as I assume there will soon be one.


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