The death of her younger brother Truman tore Andi’s family apart. Two years later, anger and guilt have left Andi indifferent to graduating from her private high school. Andi’s dad intervenes uninvited, whisking her off to Paris for winter break to focus on her senior thesis while he does work of his own. Andi is tracing the musical DNA of many classic and contemporary rock songs to the compositions of (fictional) eighteenth-century French composer Andre Mahlerbeau. Andi’s geneticist dad is conducting DNA testing on a preserved heart believed to be that of the young prince Louis-Charles, the dauphin at the time of the French Revolution. Andi’s discovery of an old diary belonging to Alexandrine, a young peasant woman who became a companion to the prince and tried to free him from captivity, blurs the lines between contemporary and historical fiction in this ambitious novel. The fervor and terror of Revolutionary France are palpable in the diary sections. And on the vibrantly realized streets of Paris, Andi meets Virgil, a young musician whose parents emigrated from Tunisia and whose lyrics speak to the race, class, and religious issues that divide France today. As she reads about the past, Andi can’t help but equate the innocent dauphin and his tragic death with memories of her brother, and the desperation and depression she’s battled threatens to overwhelm her even as her developing relationship with Virgil allows her to sense the possibility of happiness. Jennifer Donnelly’s rich, complex story explores sorrow and healing across two time periods in a novel that credibly merges present and past. (Age 14 and older)

Readers of If I Stay and Elizabeth George will love Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, New York Times bestselling author of Stepsister, Poisoned, These Shallow Graves, and the award-winning novel A Northern Light.

    Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And her father has determined that accompanying him to Paris for winter break is the solution for everything.
    But Paris is a city of ghosts for Andi. And when she finds a centuries-old diary, the ghosts begin to walk off the page. Alexandrine, the owner of the journal, lived during the French Revolution. She’s angry too. It’s the same fire that consumes Andi, and Andi finds comfort in it—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs, words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes terrifyingly present.
    Revolution artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

Praise for Revolution:
An ABA Indies Choice Young Adult Book of the Year
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book
A #1 Indiebound Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book
An Amazon.com Best Book of the Year

★ “A sumptuous feast of a novel, rich in mood, character, and emotion.”—SLJ, Starred Review

★ “Every detail is meticulously inscribed into a multi-layered narrative that is as wise, honest, and moving as it is cunningly worked. Readers  . . . will find this brilliantly crafted work utterly absorbing.”—The Bulletin, Starred Review

★ “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.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review