The Red Necklace: Book summary and reviews of The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

The Red Necklace Summary

Clever and head-turningly attractive, fourteen-year old Yann is an orphan who has been raised in Paris by Têtu, a dwarf with secrets he has yet to reveal to the gypsy boy. It's the winter of 1789, and the duo have been working for a vain magician named Topolain. On the night when Topolain's vanity brings his own death, Yann's life truly begins. That's the night he meets shy Sido, an heiress with an ice-cold 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! Revolution is afoot in France, and Sido is being used as a pawn. Only Yann will dare to rescue her, and he'll be up against a fearful villain who goes by the name Count Kalliovski, but who has often been called the devil. It'll take all of Yann's newly discovered talent to unravel the mysteries of his past and Sido's and to fight the devilish count.

The Red Necklace Reviews

"Starred Review. [A] lush tale of magic, betrayal and Revolution...Gardner's heightened prose rarely falters, and teen readers will eat it up." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Sally Gardner's follow-up to I, Coriander, aimed at 10 to 16-year-olds, is enthralling: a vividly detailed concoction of murder and romance, drama and intrigue, set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. The sense of rising panic on the Paris streets and in the salons suffuses a superb reading." - The Telegraph (UK).

"Starred Review. Suspenseful, complex and haunting. Ages 12–up." - Publishers Weekly.

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The Red Necklace Reader Reviews

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Rated of 5 by Marley
Not many historical references.
This book may be okay for the very young Twilight fans but as a high school student using it for a major historical significance project it didn't do any justice. The characters are not real and she has no references as to who she based them off. I am very intrested in the French Revolution and this book ruined it for me. I've had to reread several other books and reviews just to understand the simple concept. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who is slightly intelligent. so, nobody over the age of 14. Sorry for being harsh, this book just ruined my chances of a good grade.

Rated of 5 by TEEHEE :D
Great Book :P
This was a great book, I had to read it for a summer reading assignment and I enjoyed it. I like how the author uses many true events of history during the French Revolution, but at the same time adding fiction and a story line making the book interesting and more enjoyable :

Rated of 5 by kaity
amazing!!!!!
This is my favourite book!! I love the story line and it has a lot of historical depth as well. It intrigues me because it is a bit magical, and a little magical. I have recommended it everywhere and I am in the middle of reading it for the 4th time :) I love this book and it's sequel is amazing as well!! You should definetely read it!

Rated of 5 by logan
very good book
I really enjoyed reading this book and all but I didn't find any connection to the actual revolution. It was an amazing story and I would definitely recomend it, and actually I have to a few people, and I would even read it again. I am looking forward to the sequel "the silver blade"

Rated of 5 by A Kid That Read This Book
AMAZING!
What a spectacular book, if a may say so my self. An amazing vocabulary of intriguing words. A absolute finamina!

Sally Gardner Author Biography

Sally Gardner grew up and still lives in London. Being dyslexic, she did not learn to read or write until she was fourteen and had been thrown out of several schools, labeled unteachable, and sent to a school for maladjusted children. Despite this, she gained a degree with highest honors at a leading London art college, followed by a scholarship to a theater school, and then went on to become a very successful costume designer, working on some notable productions. After the births of twin daughters and a son, she started first to illustrate and then to write picture books and chapter books, usually with fairytale- or otherwise magical subject matter. She has been called 'an idiosyncratic genius' by London’s Sunday Times.

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