Author: Susanne Dunlap
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Buy the Book on Amazon
Much thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Childrens for giving me an ARC copy of this book!!
Eliza Monroe—daughter of the future president of the United States—is devastated when her mother decides to send her to boarding school outside of Paris. But the young American teen is quickly reconciled to the idea when—ooh, la-la!—she discovers who her fellow pupils will be: Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte; and Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of the famous French general. It doesn't take long for Eliza to figure out that the two French girls are mortal enemies—and that she's about to get caught in the middle of their schemes.
Loosely drawn from history, Eliza Monroe's imagined coming of age provides a scintillating glimpse into the lives, loves, and hopes of three young women during one of the most volatile periods in French history.-Goodreads
My Review:
What a really fun read!! I haven't really read any historical novels in a while so it was really fun reading something from a different time period! One of the first things that caught my eye about this novel was the setting/location. It was really interesting to see what France was like right after the revolution, especially from a teenager's perspective. Susanne Dunlap does a really great job of describing the setting and making the reader really able to imagine France during this time.
One of my favorite parts about this book was that the chapters rotated between the different characters in the book. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the main character Eliza, but as the book went on and I learned more about her, I really started to like her. Her character developed a lot throughout the novel and in the end I really enjoyed seeing what happened to Eliza and her friends.
Another part of this novel that I really enjoyed was the suspense and mystery that I got from reading this book. I thought the book was going to go in one direction, but by the end I was totally wrong and something happened that I did not see coming!! I love when books surprise me and keep me on edge, and this novel definitely did this for me!!
Overall, I really enjoyed The Académie, and I recommend that you all check this book out if you are looking for a great historical young adult novel!
My Rating: Four out of Five Stars
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I LOVE historical fictions. This book reminds me of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. I loved that book, and I have a feeling that I'll enjoy this one as well. Wonderful review.
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your review, and now I totally need to read the book too! The rotating thing is really interesting, it gives an awesome perspective on things, right? :)
ReplyDeleteIve been eying this book lately, the premise sounds interesting and your review makes me want to read it more! Great review SArahx
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The Académie was an interesting historical fiction novel that was a refreshing break from my usual time period. It was a nice coming-of-age novel. I just believe that the two main shortcomings were the exclusion of Caroline's point-of-view and the forced feel of Madeleine's storyline.
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