Revolution (novel)
Encyclopedia
Revolution is a young adult historical fiction
novel by Jennifer Donnelly
about a girl name Andi Alpers who is struggling with drugs, thoughts of suicide, and the way her family has fallen apart after the death of her ten-year-old brother. When her father takes her with him to Paris on a business trip to insure she works on her school thesis, Andi discovers a journal written by a girl her age, Alexandrine Paradis, two centuries earlier which has its own tragedies inside. Revolution was a Amazon Best Book of the Year (2010) and honored by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal; the audiobook version received a 2011 American Library Association Odyssey Honor.
But then her father swoops back into the picture after hearing about her grades. He ships her mother off into a mental hospital to recover and takes Andi to Paris with him to make sure she writes the outline for her thesis. He is there to do a DNA test on the remains of a heart believed to be that of Louis-Charles
, the young son of Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette
, who was locked away during the French Revolution
and believed to have died in the tower at the age of ten. Despite this, rumors of the Lost Dauphin's escape were numerous, as were the people who stepped up to claim the throne at the end of the Revolution.
Andi becomes more interested in this story when she discovers the diary of Alexandrine Paradis, a girl who played with and watched over the prince in her youth and later became a hunted figure nicknamed The Green Man because she continued to set off fireworks all around the city for the prince to see from the tower, so he would not lose hope. As she reads through the diary, Andi almost starts to believe that Alex wants her to finish reading it instead of working on her musical DNA project on Amadé Malherbeau, a famous musician of around the same time who is known for his quirky style.
During her library adventures in research and exploring around Paris, Andi meets Virgil, a taxi driver, and they begin an odd courtship of musical discourse over the phone after she accidentally leaves her iPod with him after making music together at a bar. All the while, the music she plays on her guitar and the talks she and Virgil have keep her hoping for a better future, despite her fights with her father and her emotional distress over memories the diary evokes of her own brother. After her frantic attempt to get up to the top of the Eiffel Tower
to commit suicide, Virgil drags her with him down to a closed off part of the catacombs of Paris
, where the bones of the thousands of dead were laid to rest centuries ago, to play at a party. When the police come in to break things up and everyone is running everywhere, Andi is suddenly transported to the 18th century and everyone thinks she is Alex.
Her savior is the subject of her thesis, Malherbeau, and her confused babblings are attributed to the crack in the head she took while stumbling in the darkness of the catacombs, until she starts playing her guitar in public at the base of the tower for Louis-Charles to hear and is seriously heckled by those present. Andi carries out the rest of Alex's mission, knowing that the heart in the jar that her father is testing is indeed Louis-Charles, and that he will die in just a few nights. In exchange for his help, she gives Malherbeau her iPod, and he listens to Beethoven play music he has not finished composing yet, as well as music from more recent artists such as Radiohead
. Andi returns to her own century wondering if all that had happened was true or some strange effect from her medication and the knock to the head. She also returns with a sense of acceptance of all that has happened.
In the epilogue, Andi is living in France with her mother, who has gotten over her own depression with help. She still has a strained relationship with her father, who is with his new family, but enjoys playing music with Virgil around Paris.
gave Revolution a starred review, saying "Donnelly combines compelling historical fiction with a frank contemporary story. Andi is brilliantly realized, complete and complex. The novel is rich with detail, and both the Brooklyn and Paris settings provide important grounding for the haunting and beautifully told story." Publishers Weekly
thought "Donnelly's story goes on too long, but packs in worthy stuff. Musicians, especially, will appreciate the thread about the debt rock owes to the classics." School Library Journal
called it "stunning" and "A Favorite Book Read in 2010."
Booktunes Interview A Child's Heart
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
novel by Jennifer Donnelly
Jennifer Donnelly
Jennifer Donnelly is a historical fiction author best-known for her novel A Northern Light . She has also written The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose, and Revolution, as well as Humble Pie, a picture book for children...
about a girl name Andi Alpers who is struggling with drugs, thoughts of suicide, and the way her family has fallen apart after the death of her ten-year-old brother. When her father takes her with him to Paris on a business trip to insure she works on her school thesis, Andi discovers a journal written by a girl her age, Alexandrine Paradis, two centuries earlier which has its own tragedies inside. Revolution was a Amazon Best Book of the Year (2010) and honored by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal; the audiobook version received a 2011 American Library Association Odyssey Honor.
Plot summary
Andi Alpers is doing the best she can to take care of her mother's deep depression while popping pills for her own. Her father is off living with his pregnant 25-year-old girlfriend, her grades are falling apart, and if she does not turn in her thesis outline after break, she will be kicked out of school. But she does not care, because she knows it is her fault that her ten-year-old brother was brutally murdered on the way to school, when she was tasked to walk with him. The only thing that keeps her alive is her music.But then her father swoops back into the picture after hearing about her grades. He ships her mother off into a mental hospital to recover and takes Andi to Paris with him to make sure she writes the outline for her thesis. He is there to do a DNA test on the remains of a heart believed to be that of Louis-Charles
Louis XVII of France
Louis XVII , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette...
, the young son of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, who was locked away during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and believed to have died in the tower at the age of ten. Despite this, rumors of the Lost Dauphin's escape were numerous, as were the people who stepped up to claim the throne at the end of the Revolution.
Andi becomes more interested in this story when she discovers the diary of Alexandrine Paradis, a girl who played with and watched over the prince in her youth and later became a hunted figure nicknamed The Green Man because she continued to set off fireworks all around the city for the prince to see from the tower, so he would not lose hope. As she reads through the diary, Andi almost starts to believe that Alex wants her to finish reading it instead of working on her musical DNA project on Amadé Malherbeau, a famous musician of around the same time who is known for his quirky style.
During her library adventures in research and exploring around Paris, Andi meets Virgil, a taxi driver, and they begin an odd courtship of musical discourse over the phone after she accidentally leaves her iPod with him after making music together at a bar. All the while, the music she plays on her guitar and the talks she and Virgil have keep her hoping for a better future, despite her fights with her father and her emotional distress over memories the diary evokes of her own brother. After her frantic attempt to get up to the top of the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
to commit suicide, Virgil drags her with him down to a closed off part of the catacombs of Paris
Catacombs of Paris
The Catacombs of Paris or Catacombes de Paris are an underground ossuary in Paris, France. Located south of the former city gate , the ossuary holds the remains of about 6 million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris' stone mines...
, where the bones of the thousands of dead were laid to rest centuries ago, to play at a party. When the police come in to break things up and everyone is running everywhere, Andi is suddenly transported to the 18th century and everyone thinks she is Alex.
Her savior is the subject of her thesis, Malherbeau, and her confused babblings are attributed to the crack in the head she took while stumbling in the darkness of the catacombs, until she starts playing her guitar in public at the base of the tower for Louis-Charles to hear and is seriously heckled by those present. Andi carries out the rest of Alex's mission, knowing that the heart in the jar that her father is testing is indeed Louis-Charles, and that he will die in just a few nights. In exchange for his help, she gives Malherbeau her iPod, and he listens to Beethoven play music he has not finished composing yet, as well as music from more recent artists such as Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
. Andi returns to her own century wondering if all that had happened was true or some strange effect from her medication and the knock to the head. She also returns with a sense of acceptance of all that has happened.
In the epilogue, Andi is living in France with her mother, who has gotten over her own depression with help. She still has a strained relationship with her father, who is with his new family, but enjoys playing music with Virgil around Paris.
Publication history
The book was published in October, 2010 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, with a first run of 250,000 copies.Reception
The Kirkus ReviewsKirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
gave Revolution a starred review, saying "Donnelly combines compelling historical fiction with a frank contemporary story. Andi is brilliantly realized, complete and complex. The novel is rich with detail, and both the Brooklyn and Paris settings provide important grounding for the haunting and beautifully told story." Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
thought "Donnelly's story goes on too long, but packs in worthy stuff. Musicians, especially, will appreciate the thread about the debt rock owes to the classics." School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
called it "stunning" and "A Favorite Book Read in 2010."
Awards and nominations
- Amazon's Best Books of the YearAmazon's Best Books of the YearAmazon's Best Books of the Year is a list of best books created yearly by Amazon.com. It is a list of best books picked by Amazon editors and customers. It began in 2000. Customer favorites are ranked according to the number of sales made through October, for books published in that calender year...
(2010) by http://www.amazon.com/b?node=2486012011 - Kirkus ReviewsKirkus ReviewsKirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
(Best Teen Book, 2010) http://www.kirkusreviews.com/lists/2010-best-books-teens-complete-list/ - School Library JournalSchool Library JournalThe School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
(Favorite Book Read, 2010) http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newslettersnewsletterbucketextrahelping/887793-443/best_books_2010_fiction.html.csp - American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
Odyssey Honor (Audiobook, 2011) http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/odyssey/odyssey.cfm - Indies Choice Book Award (Young Adult, 2011)
External Links
Guardian.co.uk Revolution ReviewBooktunes Interview A Child's Heart