Most days during my lunch break I try find a quiet spot, not always an easy task in today’s shhh-less libraries, and I use my half hour as a time to relax and read a good book. I recently finished Jennifer Donnelly’s new novel, Revolution, which several of my co-workers have read and was one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month in October 2010. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others who like books that flip between a modern day and a historical story, but keep in mind that it is a young adult title so you have to be able to take some of the teen angst that is an inevitable part of a YA read.
Here is the summary from Amazon…
Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly’s remarkable new novel, weaves together the lives of Andi Alpers, a depressed modern-day teenager, and Alexandrine Paradis, a brave young woman caught up in the French Revolution. While in Paris with her estranged father, a Nobel geneticist hired to match the DNA of a heart said to belong to the last dauphin of France, Andi discovers a diary hidden within a guitar case–and so begins the story of Alexandrine, who herself had close ties to the dauphin. Redemption and the will to change are powerful themes of the novel, and music is ever present–Andi and Alex have a passion for the guitar, and the playlist running through Revolution is a who’s who of classic and contemporary influences. Danger, intrigue, music, and impeccably researched history fill the pages of Revolution, as both young women learn that, “it is love, not death, that undoes us.”–Seira Wilson
If you decide to give it a read and you like the musical references interspersed throughout the book you can find a complete playlist on Jennifer Donnelly’s website.
Has anyone else been reading a good book lately? I’m always looking to add to my to-read list!
lunchitpunchit
February 16, 2011 at 5:06 pm[New Post] Book Review: Revolution – via #twitoaster http://lunchitpunchit.com/2011/02/1047/
Heather
February 17, 2011 at 5:14 pmMy students reccomended a new book of vampire short stories that they think I will like better than Twilight…So, I am going to be reading Den of Shadows. I’m excited about it. It is my guilty pleasure.
FM
February 17, 2011 at 6:21 pmI am always looking for a new Vampire book! Right now I am reading Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison. This is the third in the series. I will have to say they started out slow, but each book is getting better. They have kept my attention because they are set in the Northern Kentucky & Cincinnati area so I recognize a lot of the places she references in the books, which is a lot of fun!
Bladerunner
February 17, 2011 at 10:40 pmHave you read “Sock”, by Penn Jillette? The story itself is pretty good. But the cultural references at the end of every chapter ended practically being their own game. I found a website somewhere that cited each one. Turns out I only really knew about a third of them. If you liked the musical references, you might like the cultural references in “Sock”. (Oh, and it’s a fairly quick read too)
FM
February 20, 2011 at 8:54 pmI haven’t read “Sock” but I will put it on my list! I took a look at the summary on Amazon and I couldn’t really figure out what the book was about it just kept saying that it was eccentric…I’m always up for a new and different type of book. Thanks fo the rec!
Andi
February 18, 2011 at 8:05 pmI’m listening to Room by Emma Donoghue and am intrigued by how she used the Fritzl case to write this book.
I need to read Caesars’ Wives by Annelise Freisenbruch and Cleopatra A Life by Stacy Shiff to get ready for the Cleopatra exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
FM
February 20, 2011 at 8:58 pmI’ll be needing a new audiobook soon. I’ll have to check out Room…and the Cleopatra exhibit. It sounds awesome!