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Title details for The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner - Available

The Red Necklace

A Novel of the French Revolution

by Sally Gardner
Carrington MacDuffie
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
The winds of change are blowing through Paris in the winter of 1789, both for France and for our hero, a striking and mysterious Gypsy boy named Yann Margoza. He was born with a gift for knowing what people are thinking and an uncanny ability to throw his voice, and he has been using those skills while working for a rather foolish magician. That work will soon end, however, and on the night of the magician’s final performance, Yann’s life will truly begin. That’s the night he meets shy Sido, an heiress with a cold-hearted father, a young girl who has only known loneliness until now. Though they have the shortest of conversations, an attachment is born that will influence both their paths.
And what paths those will be! While Revolution is afoot in France, Sido is being used as the pawn of a fearful villain who goes by the name Count Kalliovski. Some have instead called him the devil, and only Yann, for Sido’s sake, will dare to oppose him.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    May 27, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780739362327
      • File size: 281169 KB
      • Duration: 09:45:46

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 5.8
    • Lexile® Measure: 820
    • Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The French Revolution provides the backdrop for this story of gypsies, demented aristocrats, intrigue, and murder. Yann, orphaned at a young age, has been raised by a kindly dwarf and works with a traveling troupe of magicians. The murder of the group's leader by the sinister Count Kalliovski provides the catalyst for Yann's further adventures. Though improbable coincidences and unlikely circumstances abound, Carrington MacDuffie's performance draws in the listener. At first, MacDuffie is all over the map with various accents and characterizations, but she soon settles into a comfortably paced, enjoyable performance. Skillfully, she establishes several distinct characters and never leaves the listener guessing as to who is speaking. A little history, a lot of adventure--this boisterous story would be a good choice for a family road trip. M.H.N. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 26, 2008
      Set during the French Revolution, Gardner's (I, Coriander
      ) epic and tautly plotted tale engages readers from the start with its combination of romance and history, mystery and magic. Yann Magoza, an orphan, travels with entertainers who use supernatural powers in their act; Yann himself can read minds. As the novel opens, Yann and his companions are brought to a marquis's chateau, where Yann has a brief but fateful meeting with the foolish and cruel marquis's brave daughter, Sidonie, and where the marquis's associate, a scheming count, brutally but cleverly murders one of the magicians. The pace retains this thrilling momentum all the way through the heart-stopping climax. As Gardner slowly discloses Yann's and Sido's heritages, she ratchets up tension about the marquis's and the count's plans for Sido. She lards her story with intriguing details, like the red garnet necklaces left like signatures with a series of murder victims, and “threads of light” that make Yann's magic possible. The novel also paints vivid, convincing pictures of the Revolution: characters glimpse the massed thousands of Parisian women marching to Versailles, pitchforks in hand, demanding bread, and mobs setting upon suspected aristocrats. Suspenseful, complex and haunting. Ages 12–up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.8
  • Lexile® Measure:820
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Funding for additional materials was made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.