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kim_j_dare's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering, and it was so beautifully done. Jennifer Donnelly really captures the lives of two teenage girls, Andi and Alex, who live at different times but become connected to each other. Whether she's plumbing contemporary Andi's despair or bringing the French Revolution to life through Alex's narration, Donnelly creates a superb story arc that will have readers enthralled to the end.
reydeam's review against another edition
3.0
Tricky,tricky, tricky. There is much to like about this book and there is much I did not like. Tricky. Which one outweighs the other? Like or dislike? In the end, the elements and areas that I did like left me feeling that this was a good book.
I did start reading Revolution with different expectations than what was given, and I think that played a role in the areas I did not like. The historical elements were not woven into the story as I expected. Yet, the use of the journal was a good twist. But then, the main character - Andi - took hold of the history in the way I was first expecting. I should have reveled in that but yet I could not. Throwing that plot device into the story felt out of place and the believability factor wavered greatly within me. I liked the histrocial elements of the story very much, in a basic sense. But I could not help but feel a bit confused with the history, and while I am not well read in the French Revolution, I do have enough understanding to wonder and question the motives of Alex. She was well intended but it seemed far fetched - her devotion. Regardless, Alex was a good way for us, the reader, to take a look into this era. All in all, the historical aspects were decent but even now, two weeks out from the reading, I feel slightly at a loss of understanding the turmoil, upheaval and chaos of that time - in terms of factual information. In terms of emotional information, the vibe is well felt. But, two weeks out from the reading, it is not the historical aspects that have been engrained, rather it is Andi's life, and truly, for me, that is nothing huge. This type of time-slip reading is generally hard for me to pull off without feeling a bit of discombobulation. With that bias in mind, Donnelly wrote a good and well-founded historical fiction story.
The characters were okay. Typical in one sense for a YA book which also means it was sort of a disappointment. Yes, Andi does have dimensions but the majority of the book was focused on only one of her deminsions; that was a positive and a negative, mixed feelings I have. I did not like Andi. I am okay with that as I do not have to like the main character. But, I do have to have some sort of understanding and not just feel like blah...here's a troubled in your face teenager. It must be my age or phase in life because I have little tolerance for in your face type teenagers regardless of their life circumstances...at least in the books I read. I'd rather save my tolerance for real-life circumstances.
Bottom Line: A good book that definitely gained my attention and for all the negative I felt, I could not peel my eyes away from the pages. I wanted to know the ending. My expectations were greater for the story than what was actually delivered so I can not help but feel a bit of disappointment. However, the disappointment did not stop me from picking up another Jennifer Donnelly book; there is something intriguing about her writing. The next Donnelly book on the list to read is A Northern Light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My full post on this book can be found on Polishng Mud Balls
I did start reading Revolution with different expectations than what was given, and I think that played a role in the areas I did not like. The historical elements were not woven into the story as I expected. Yet, the use of the journal was a good twist. But then, the main character - Andi - took hold of the history in the way I was first expecting. I should have reveled in that but yet I could not. Throwing that plot device into the story felt out of place and the believability factor wavered greatly within me. I liked the histrocial elements of the story very much, in a basic sense. But I could not help but feel a bit confused with the history, and while I am not well read in the French Revolution, I do have enough understanding to wonder and question the motives of Alex. She was well intended but it seemed far fetched - her devotion. Regardless, Alex was a good way for us, the reader, to take a look into this era. All in all, the historical aspects were decent but even now, two weeks out from the reading, I feel slightly at a loss of understanding the turmoil, upheaval and chaos of that time - in terms of factual information. In terms of emotional information, the vibe is well felt. But, two weeks out from the reading, it is not the historical aspects that have been engrained, rather it is Andi's life, and truly, for me, that is nothing huge. This type of time-slip reading is generally hard for me to pull off without feeling a bit of discombobulation. With that bias in mind, Donnelly wrote a good and well-founded historical fiction story.
The characters were okay. Typical in one sense for a YA book which also means it was sort of a disappointment. Yes, Andi does have dimensions but the majority of the book was focused on only one of her deminsions; that was a positive and a negative, mixed feelings I have. I did not like Andi. I am okay with that as I do not have to like the main character. But, I do have to have some sort of understanding and not just feel like blah...here's a troubled in your face teenager. It must be my age or phase in life because I have little tolerance for in your face type teenagers regardless of their life circumstances...at least in the books I read. I'd rather save my tolerance for real-life circumstances.
Bottom Line: A good book that definitely gained my attention and for all the negative I felt, I could not peel my eyes away from the pages. I wanted to know the ending. My expectations were greater for the story than what was actually delivered so I can not help but feel a bit of disappointment. However, the disappointment did not stop me from picking up another Jennifer Donnelly book; there is something intriguing about her writing. The next Donnelly book on the list to read is A Northern Light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My full post on this book can be found on Polishng Mud Balls
alainaaraee's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jol69's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes great, lost it in the middle, overall too long but I'll give it three for the moments of brilliance it occasionally had.
salgalruns's review against another edition
4.0
Let me first of all state that I am not a huge fan of Young Adult books. However, I truly enjoyed Jennifer Donnelly's [b:Revolution|7558747|Revolution|Jennifer Donnelly|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320530843s/7558747.jpg|9871439]. When the story opens, the only character that I could equate her with was something out of the scenes of Gossip Girl - rich girl, prestigious private school, etc. However, as the story unfolds, you start to learn that she is truly brilliant and incredibly driven in her own way. Yes, she's a teenage girl. Yes, she procrastinates (to the point that I would have screamed!!!!). Yes, she's dealing with A LOT of emotional baggage to say the least.
I think her character, and that of Alex, were what made the story. The depth and the wanting others to see how incredible they really were, was what kept me going. The storyline about her dealing with Truman was appropriately addressed in that it was pivotal, but just seemed to add to who she was, not taking away from the crux of the story, which I saw as the French Revolution.
I was fascinated by the musical elements as well. I appreciate all forms of music, but am in no way as talented or as well versed as those who have studied it. It would be interesting to see what the musical geniuses feel about this storyline.
Definitely an enjoyable read and one I would recommend to others. If you're a YA fan, then most definitely.
I think her character, and that of Alex, were what made the story. The depth and the wanting others to see how incredible they really were, was what kept me going. The storyline about her dealing with Truman was appropriately addressed in that it was pivotal, but just seemed to add to who she was, not taking away from the crux of the story, which I saw as the French Revolution.
I was fascinated by the musical elements as well. I appreciate all forms of music, but am in no way as talented or as well versed as those who have studied it. It would be interesting to see what the musical geniuses feel about this storyline.
Definitely an enjoyable read and one I would recommend to others. If you're a YA fan, then most definitely.
bee_phe's review against another edition
2.0
kinda fun lil musical historical fiction. the protagonist irked me a little bit for personal reasons
mb_lovestoread's review against another edition
5.0
This was a surprising read. It’s been in my bookcase for 10+ years. Wrapping my book might have been one of the better choices I made this year 5/5⭐️I had no clue if I’d like this book but it’s amazingly written and a plot twist happened, one that I did not see coming! If you love history and young adult this is a must read!!
reader4evr's review against another edition
3.0
I had great expectations for this book but I just didn't love it like I loved A Northern Light. The beginning of the book was kind of dark because of the death of her brother. In general, I wanted to read more about Andie and her experience in France than the diary part of the book because I really liked Andie. What a great character that I think a lot of teenage girls can relate too. Another reason I was kind of reading fast through the diary party was because I wanted to read more about Andie and Virgil (who I think I have a crush on). I can say that I have never read a book where a girl character can play the guitar like nobody's business. All of the music references were great.
I kind of expected the whole time traveling aspect of it and how Andie would somehow be related to Alex. It was clever the way that was worked in and it kind of felt like a movie that I have seen before.
After finishing the book, I read through all of the difference sources that the author used and I cringed when I read that she cited Wikipedia (yuck). Overall, I love it when an author write historical fiction and cites her sources because you can really feel like in this book like I was there following around the characters during the French Revolution. I wish the book was a little shorter but I don't think the author could have explained everything like she did.
I kind of expected the whole time traveling aspect of it and how Andie would somehow be related to Alex. It was clever the way that was worked in and it kind of felt like a movie that I have seen before.
After finishing the book, I read through all of the difference sources that the author used and I cringed when I read that she cited Wikipedia (yuck). Overall, I love it when an author write historical fiction and cites her sources because you can really feel like in this book like I was there following around the characters during the French Revolution. I wish the book was a little shorter but I don't think the author could have explained everything like she did.
meks17's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
andiemags53's review against another edition
4.0
It was a slow moving book at first, but about 1/4 to 1/2 way it gets REALLY interesting and I couldn't put it down!