What truly got me interested in the book was the cover and the bio on the back, but after reading it the bio isn't good enough to explains how beautiful and and amazing this book is. I don't think any bio could. The words are smooth and wonderfully described. You feel as if you really there in Paris or London during the French Revolution. The book has everything from Murder, Magic, romances, history.
The things I absolutely adored with this book is the characters and how they're developed. I mean Count Kalliovski is truly evil and Marquis De Villeduval is totally oblivious and greedy. My favorite characters were Sido and Yann. For some reason they reminded me a lot of Romeo and Juliet.
The words were written with care and love because you feel a lot of emotion towards this book and could see every minute of it in your mind. Some of the plot twists were predicable but that didn't stop the beating in my heart as all the adventure scenes and exciting moments came along.
Some of the disappointing things in the book is some chapters are slow to read and that some of things happening in the book are predicable. Also I've seen numerous covers of this book and I must say that this book is aimed at both girls and boys. Don't judge the cover nor the bio by this extraordinary book. ( )

I read this for an assignment. Quite enjoyed it, although would not rave about it. ( )

Reviewed by Amber Gibson for TeensReadToo.com

THE RED NECKLACE is a fascinating tale of the French Revolution, the story of Yann, a gypsy boy, and Sido, the daughter of a Marquis. As fate would have it, their histories are intertwined in a way that both need the other if they are to have any hope of surviving the bloodbath of the Revolution.

Gardner's thorough research and grasp of the zeitgeist is apparent. The power of gypsy magic was a well-accepted fact of the time period and the inclusion of the paranormal does not distract from the historical context of the novel, but actually adds to the dangerous and unpredictable atmosphere of the times. Dialogue between the aristocracy could have been more sophisticated to better illustrate the principles of the Revolution, but Gardner does an overall excellent job of depicting the Reign of Terror.

The night that Yann and Sido first meet, Yann is working as a magician's apprentice, putting on a show for the Marquis and other members of the French aristocracy, including the sinister Count Kalliovski. When the magician is murdered by Kalliovski, Sido shows unexpected courage in helping Yann escape a similar fate.

Years pass before Yann has a chance to repay the favor. Sido, like all French aristocracy, is in danger of the raging passions from the hoi polloi, and also from an impending marriage to Count Kalliovski, a fate that is perhaps worse than death. Can Yann rescue Sido from both the guillotine and one of the most merciless men on the planet?

Gardner is successful in crafting a strong hero in Yann, though Sido is at times a frustratingly passive damsel in distress. However, she does have rare moments where she manages to redeem herself and display heroine potential.

The Marquis de Villeduval, Sido's father, is an utterly despicable - if somewhat flat - character with nary a redeeming quality. Count Kalliovski is a wonderfully constructed villain, with danger and power augmenting his every action, and an open-end that allows him to return with a vengeance in THE SILVER BLADE, Gardner's follow-up, detailing the height of the Reign of Terror. ( )

Sally Gardner is awesome. This book is full of action, magic, budding romance, evil, and facts about the French Revolution that you probably didn't know; I know I didn't. And the best part? It's not about Marie Antoinette. She's mentioned, of course, but just that. In The Red Necklace Gardner shows readers how the French Revolution affected rich people besides the queen, peasants who had everything to gain from the Revolution, and the terrified people in between: those who had served, helped, or worked for the aristocracy a bit too long to look good in the eyes of the Revolutionaries but did not have the finances themselves to flee to England. The back matter explains the political and financial triggers for the French Revolution. She even manages to make sure that this back matter doesn't read like a history book.

My only real problem with this book is the pretty, pretty cover on the American edition. It's hard for me to complain because, to be honest, I would never have picked up this book if I had only seen some of the other covers. It looks too History Channel or something. I picked up this book because of the pretty girl in a fancy dress who is so obviously being beheaded, because that's what pretty girls in fancy dresses (especially blonde ones who could be mistaken for Marie Antoinette from behind) did during the French Revolution. I thought I was going to read a story about her.

That girl is not in this story. I didn't miss her, but she's why I picked up the book. I'm sure that girl on the cover is why a lot of people will pick up this book. I don't think they'll be disappointed either. I'm more worried about the readers who might really enjoy Yann's story and all of the little details about how those not in the aristocracy (like that girl obviously is) experienced the French Revolution, but won't pick up this book because of that girl on the cover.

This cover is just one more in the long line of "girls in period dresses" covers that have been gracing the shelves lately, but the story in the pages could be a "boy" book. I hate that term, because I think that the idea that boys can only read books about boys while girls can read books about anyone is ridiculous. But if I can't even get my girlfriend to read this book (even though she was really interested in it after reading my booktalk) because it's too girly looking, what chance is there that a teenage boy will pick it up voluntarily?

In conclusion: Great book. Misleading cover. Potential audience lost.

The Red Necklace is a really riveting young adult fantasy novel that focuses on a French boy of gypsy origins, Yann, who has magical abilities to move things and read people's minds. It also features a young aristocrat woman, Sido, who is trying to escape marriage to a vile, older man who excellently reinvents himself with each change in the political climate of France. The characters are all very richly-drawn and engaging. The story gets a bit bogged down in itself a couple of times, but generally moves at a clipping pace.

I really like the way Sally Gardner set up the story by showing different sides of the conflict. The French Revolution was certainly a long time coming, but she shows each side of the bloody mess objectively. I also liked the bonus of Yann and his mentor being of gypsy background. It added another nuance to the story without overpowering it. I am excited to see how that backstory develops. There is also a somewhat Star Wars-esque plotline introduced near the end, but I won't get into that one- don't want to ruin the read for anyone else.

All in all, a really fun and interesting read. Highly recommended if you like fantasy or historical fiction.

Truncated from full review at:
http://aartichapati.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

Words can't explain how disappointed I was in this young adult book. First YA book of the summer that I picked up and I stopped on page 159! Argh! I was expecting an epic tale of a young girl during the French Revolution and instead was bored and trying to figure out what age level this book was for. I wasn't engrossed and I'm 33. How exactly to 12 year old girls find this book engrossing? Did I miss something? I guess I am engrossed by the cover..... ( )

This book tells the story of Sido, a girl with a mysterious pastand Yann Margoza a gypsie boy with a strange ability and a frightening future.
Absolutely the best book i have ever read!! A mysterious, action-packed romance! ( )

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner is a dazzling historical novel for older children and young adults - and fair blew this forty-something adult away too. I absolutely loved it!

This is the Paris of the late 1780s, just before the revolution. Yann, a gypsy youth who has second sight, assists his friend and mentor, the dwarf Tetu behind the scenes of a magic show featuring a fortune-telling automaton in a private performance for the Marquis de Villeduval. In the audience, the evil Count Kalliovski, financier to the reckless overspenders in the French aristocracy. Kalliovski wants the automaton's secret, but when he realises that he and Tetu have encountered each other before, shoots the dwarf - Yann escapes with the assistance of the Marquis' unloved daughter Sido. Yann goes to London where contacts of Tetu - who turn out to be Sido's aunt and uncle, take care of him and nurture him towards manhood. Meanwhile the essentially bankrupt Marquis betrothes Sido to the Count in exchange for writing off his debts. Then in 1789, the storming of the Bastille happens, Yann returns to France to see if Tetu is still alive and to try and rescue Sido from the clutches of the revolutionaries and Count Kalliovski - it will not be easy...

Above, you have just the briefest description of some of the events in this totally gripping story. It has everything that an adventure needs - a full cast of well-developed characters, good, bad and every shade inbetween; a setting from an exciting period of history; a plot full of murder, mystery and mayhem alongside the a central romance entwined with the chase and quest to find out answers, all bound up with a tiny touch of magic. It careers breathlessly along through its 371 pages, never flagging, ensuring the reader comes with it.

My daughter and I enjoyed Sally Gardner's books for younger children too like Lucy Willow in which she shows a beautifully light touch with magic. In this novel for older readers, the gypsys' abilities are so deftly handled that the fantastic element feels truly part of the story.

I will definitely be seeking out Gardner's other historical novel for older children and young adults I, Coriander soon. If, as a younger reader you enjoyed the Cat Royal novels of Julia Golding, you'd love this one too. I really did enjoy reading this book and am delighted to see there's a sequel due. ( )

This is an engrossing, exciting, and well written novel that blends together history, fantasy, adventure, and a dash of romance. It takes place at the beginning of the French Revolution, and the main characters are Yann Margoza, a Gypsy boy who can read minds, and Sido, the neglected daughter of a selfish marquis. An evil man named Count (and, later, Citizen) Kalliovski is the mysterious villain. To say much more about the plot would take better summarizing skills than I have, and would ruin much of the experience of the novel. Gardner does a brilliant job of creating unique, likable characters in Yann and Sido, and she sets a wonderfully exciting historical scene, incorporating magic in a way that never seems forced. The depictions of the Revolution are brutal and heartbreaking, but there is kindness and love, too. The ending is left open, leaving me hoping for a sequel. Highly recommended! ( )

Keeps you o the edge of your seat. ( )

France 1789, change is in the wind. Yann, Gypsy orphan raised by a talented dwarf, has the mysterious ability to throw his voice and read men’s minds. He is content to act his part in the magician Topolain’s show and learn magic from his surrogate father. But Yann’s life is altered forever when his master is summoned to perform at a powerful noble’s home. By the end of the evening a secret is discovered, a man is murdered and Yann must flee France. As he escapes Yann is only dimly aware of the change barreling down on a nation and the part he will play, but destiny will not be denied.

Fabulous! I love this book. All of the characters, even secondary ones come to life through Ms. Gardner’s pen. The reader is immersed in the excitement, thrill and eventual horror of the French Revolution. Using characters from different stations, Ms. Gardner is able to view the Revolution through more than one perspective which helps the reader understand the actions of the “third estate”. While centered around and effected by the Revolution, The Red Necklace is about people: Yann, Tetu, Sido, the Marquis and the Count, and how their actions (past and present) affect their future. Deep and detailed, any reader should love this novel. ( )

The story opens describing our protagonist, a young boy who travels with a poor magic troupe, for his talent of throwing his voice. The other members in his magic group are basically his only family, because his mother was killed very early in his life. Switch to Sido, a French heiress who, despite the blond girl on the cover, is not as beautiful and has a limp, labeling her useless to her father, a Marqui who isn't afraid to spend irresponsible amounts of money. To her father, this does not matter because his friend will always bail him out. When the French Revolution comes along, and her father finds himself drowning in debts, her family is suddenly very in trouble.
This book is a great read for people who like the lavish details of a era prettier then ours, but don't care for actual authenticity, for this book isn't really accurate. But it isn't glaringly obvious, and its a fun read. The storyline is exciting, and riveting. A traditional story, filled with excitement, danger, and an old-fashioned love story.

Our story starts out on the outskirts of Paris with a private magic show in the bleak winter of 1789. The mysterious Gypsy boy (and, obviously, our hero) Yann Margoza has been summoned along with his fellow magicians to perform their famed trick of making a wooden doll move and speak. But the performance goes terribly wrong when Yann forsees the bloodshed soon to come on the heels of the Revolution. Running to escape a bloodthirsty villain, Yann encounters the Marquis' shy young daughter Sido, and that brief meeting twines their futures together on a path fraught with danger and magic.

Gardner definitely manages to bring to life the bubbling precursors to the Revolution, the fervid patriotism and the idealism of the early reformers, but she also doesn't leave out the ugly undercurrent of violence and death that lurked just below the surface waiting to burst free. She does an amazing job showing how much-needed reforms were twisted and corrupted into yet another tool for oppression, and how the resentment of the populace festered until it burst free in the bloody wave of the Terror. Her prose is evocative without resorting to the gruesome. As a period piece, this was a wonderful read.

Those of us who knew the events that would lead up to even more bloodshed can pick up clues that hint at the timing and the nearing calamity. And for those less familiar with the Revolution's timeline, Gardner included ominous passages foreshadowing the dire events to come. I read breathlessly on, wondering how Sido - a young aristocratic girl - would ever be saved given her foolish fop of a father, and hoping against hope that strong brave Yann could work miracles. The story drew me in and held me completely captivated.

I also really enjoyed Yann's ability with magic, and the descriptions of how he and Tetu could make their gifts work. It seemed a very plausible explanation of his psychic gifts. I didn't quite see why Yann didn't regain his lost gifts with time, however, or rather, why he only regained it partially. That aspect sort of itched along my reader's consciousness. I can only hope this will be fleshed out in the later books (which promise to be at least partially Scarlet Pimpernel-esque).

I was left unsatisfied by the 'mystery' aspect of the story. Count Kalliovski seemed almost a caricature of evil. He simply didn't scare me the way he should have. And several of the plot 'twists' involving him were awfully predictable. Of course, several of them were also left unresolved for the sake of future books - which might be a cause of my lingering discontent.

A good book? I think so, but it's missing something that would push it over to my keeper shelf. I would recommend giving it a read if the story intrigues you. And I'll definitely be taking a look at the sequel.

Also posted at my blog ( )

In the late eighteenth-century, Sido, the twelve-year-old daughter of a self-indulgent marquis, and Yann, a fourteen-year-old Gypsy orphan raised to perform in a magic show, face a common enemy at the start of the French Revolution. ( )

In the late eighteenth-century, Sido, the twelve-year-old daughter of a self-indulgent marquis, and Yann, a fourteen-year-old Gypsy orphan raised to perform in a magic show, face a common enemy at the start of the French Revolution. ( )