Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2008
384 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
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.
"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.
This information about The Red Necklace was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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.
I, Coriander
is her ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Sally Gardner's Website
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
