Grades: 6+
The Red Necklace is the story of Yann, a gypsy boy with the ability to read minds, and Sido, the daughter of a bankrupt nobleman. If either are going to survive the French Revolution they are going to need one another.
The power of gypsy magic was a well-accepted fact of the time period and the inclusion of the paranormal does not distract from the historical context of the novel, but actually adds to the dangerous and unpredictable atmosphere of the times. Gardner does an overall excellent job of depicting the Reign of Terror.
The night that Yann and Sido first meet, Yann is working as a magician's apprentice, putting on a show for Sido's father other members of the French aristocracy, including the sinister Count Kalliovski. When the magician is murdered by Kalliovski, Sido shows unexpected courage in helping Yann escape a similar fate.
Years pass before Yann has a chance to repay the favor. Sido, like all French aristocracy, is in danger of the raging passions from the hoi polloi, and also from an impending marriage to Count Kalliovski, a fate that is perhaps worse than death. Can Yann rescue Sido from both the guillotine and one of the most merciless men on the planet?
Gardner is successful in crafting a strong hero in Yann and villain in the Marquis de Villeduval, Sido's father and Count Kalliovski. Marvelous historical fiction set during the French Revolution. What more could you want when a novel contains mystery, romance, a magician, an orphan, a dwarf, an automotan and evil incarnate?
The power of gypsy magic was a well-accepted fact of the time period and the inclusion of the paranormal does not distract from the historical context of the novel, but actually adds to the dangerous and unpredictable atmosphere of the times. Gardner does an overall excellent job of depicting the Reign of Terror.
The night that Yann and Sido first meet, Yann is working as a magician's apprentice, putting on a show for Sido's father other members of the French aristocracy, including the sinister Count Kalliovski. When the magician is murdered by Kalliovski, Sido shows unexpected courage in helping Yann escape a similar fate.
Years pass before Yann has a chance to repay the favor. Sido, like all French aristocracy, is in danger of the raging passions from the hoi polloi, and also from an impending marriage to Count Kalliovski, a fate that is perhaps worse than death. Can Yann rescue Sido from both the guillotine and one of the most merciless men on the planet?
Gardner is successful in crafting a strong hero in Yann and villain in the Marquis de Villeduval, Sido's father and Count Kalliovski. Marvelous historical fiction set during the French Revolution. What more could you want when a novel contains mystery, romance, a magician, an orphan, a dwarf, an automotan and evil incarnate?
