I have recently finished reading
The red necklace by Sally Gardner. As you know I am a bit of a fan of historical fiction, however I avoided reading this one because it is set at the time of the French Revolution (1789) a period of history I was put off by a truly dreadful lecturer at university. However the tag line -"Murder, magic, secrets- and the blade of the guillotine is still to fall" - intruiged me and I had to read it and I really enjoyed it. My only reservation is the use of magic in the book as it is so unlikely that such things could be achieved and this detracts a little from the story. Otherwise it is a really good adventure story and gives an insight into the period of the French Revolution.
The hero is Yann a boy with magical talents and an uncertain background. When he and his co-magicians are tricked into giving a performance by the evil Count Kalliovski everything changes. Yann has to escape to England but is then persuaded to return to France in spite of the danger, to rescue Sido the unloved daughter of a member of the nobility. Can Yann rescue Sido from the guillotine, find out about the powers of the red necklace and discover the truth about his upbringing?
