The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

“Let them eat cake,” Marie-Antoinette supposedly proclaimed in days leading up to the French Revolution and the fall of the Bastille. However, The Red Necklace, the teen novel I read for this month’s fantasy selection, may not include the famous aristocrat as a character but it does take place during the late18th century upheaval in France and it is a real treat. Although I would technically categorize it in the historical fiction genre, it does contain lots of magic and other fantasy elements.

The setting for The Red Necklace is the social and political turmoil of the French Revolution. The plot concerns a 14 year old Gypsy boy named Yann Margoza who is in the care of a dwarf named Tetu. They work in a theatre and deal with magic and other illusions. One fateful night, while performing at the chateau of a mad and vain Marquis outside of Paris, the magician that Tetu and Yann work with is murdered. The murderer is the wicked Count Kalliovski. The count clandestinely collects automata whose function is to hold his secrets safe. He's been blackmailing half of Paris and is intent on marrying the 12 year old daughter of the Marquis, Sido. As Tetu and Yann attempt to escape through the secret passageways and hidden doors of the chateau, they encounter Sido. Their meeting makes a lasting impression on both teens. Many years pass and life in different countries separates them. Then Yann is given the opportunity to return to Paris and he uses his extraordinary abilities (to read other people’s minds, throw his voice, and move objects) to save Sido from her father’s disdain, the count’s plots to marry her, and the angry revolutionaries’ death threats.

The Red Necklace is one of the best teen novels I have ever read. The plot is full of action and moves really fast. The descriptions of events that were taking place in Paris during the French Revolution are fabulous. The reader is taken for a tour of the glamour of the aristocrats as well as the squalor of the prisons. There is also a remarkable description of the fear that overwhelms the aristocrats as they are taken into custody at the hands of the revolutionaries. As for the magical elements, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but it is fairly easy to do because the main characters are so involved in the magic of the theatre. I think that it would be a sweet treat for teens who like to read historical fiction, fantasy, and romance novels.