The Game of Hope

April 15, 2018
Gulland (The Shadow Queen, 2014, etc.) writes about Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte and stepdaughter of Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte.Four years after the Reign of Terror, Hortense is 15 and on the brink of adulthood. She is smart, beautiful, musically talented, and seemingly has it all. Hortense lives in a boarding school for aristocrats with her close friend Adèle Auguié and her cousin Émilie de Beauharnais. The girls work diligently under the guidance of the strict but kind headmistress, Maîtresse Campan. Despite Hortense's outward calm, she struggles to come to terms with her father's death by beheading and constantly worries about losing her beloved brother Eugène as well, as a result of his military posting in Egypt. To complicate matters further, Hortense is torn as to whether or not to believe the rumors circulating about her mother's extramarital affair with a family friend, Hippolyte Charles. Despite the initially slow-moving plot, Gulland's attention to minor details--such as Josephine's interactions with her in-laws and visiting fortunetellers--brings to life the essence of living as a young noblewoman in the year 1798 amid newfound political peace. The largely underdeveloped characters and choppy plot, however, force readers to work hard to remain invested in the narrative.This one is strictly for history buffs. (afterword, historical information, cast of characters, glossary, map) (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-In 1798, 15-year-old Hortense still suffers from nightmares of her father's beheading. After the Terror, French society flipped and so did Hortense's own life when her mother married Napoleon Bonaparte. Hortense enjoys school and her friends, and she secretly aspires to learn how to compose music. However, her mother and stepfather have other plans for her life. In this historical fiction, a relatable teenage girl from two centuries ago experiences similar trials as modern young adults. Hortense knows what it's like to feel mortified in front of a crush or have to deal with a bully in school (although different when said bully is her powerful stepfather's sister). Teachers looking for materials to support curriculum might appreciate this book about the aftermath of the French Revolution and Napoleon's rise to power. It includes a foreword, afterword, and list of characters, among other notes, which help readers discern between fact and fiction. However, despite being based on real people, the characters often fall flat. The short sentences and paragraphs state feelings and events directly rather than immersing readers in the story. VERDICT Useful for supplementing French history lessons, but a tougher sell for pleasure reading.-Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Library, Lombard, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 16, 2018
In a historical novel set in 1798, Gulland (the Josephine B. series) follows the life of 15-year-old Hortense Beauharnais four years after the end of the French Revolution. Hortense is wrestling with nightmares about her father, who was guillotined during the Reign of Terror. She lives at the Institute, a boarding school for the aristocracy run by Maîtresse Campan, with her best friend, Mouse, and her older cousin Emilie. Hortense has mixed feelings about her mother’s recent marriage to Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte, and she dreams of a romance with Christophe, her brother’s fellow officer, who is with the military in Egypt. Numerous other characters filter in and out of the story, including Eliza, daughter of American ambassador James Monroe, and Hyacinthe Jadin, a young pianist and composer who inspires Hortense, but all of the characters are paper-thin. The story is divided into chapters named for a set of fortune-telling cards, but this does little to structure the meandering plot. Gulland’s novel is meticulously packed with historical details, though, and these help to create a convincing portrayal of the suffocating and insecure circumstances that an aristocrat of the time might have experienced. Included are a glossary, a map, and additional historical information. Ages 12–up.

April 15, 2018
Grades 8-11 It's been years since the Terror, but Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, is still haunted by the memory of guillotines and riotous mobs. Rumors of ghosts swirling around her girls' school certainly don't help, but her close friends, dear maman, caring headmistress, burgeoning talent in music composition, and slow-burning crush on a handsome aide-de-camp in her stepfather's retinue are slowly helping her heal. Gulland, who's clearly done her research, includes plenty of documented moments and people from Hortense's life, which cultivates a rich sense of atmosphere. Unfortunately, that occasionally comes at the expense of her characters, who sometimes seem wooden. Gulland's description of the survivor's guilt and lingering post-traumatic stress of the Terror is a notable exception to that, however: Hortense and her friends and family tremble at knocks on the door after dark and routinely avoid groups of policemen. An author's note sifts fact from fiction, and a glossary will help with historical euphemisms that may confound readers. Teen fans of historical fiction fascinated by the period will find plenty to appreciate here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)