Everything That Burns

December 18, 2020

Gr 9 Up-In this seamless sequel to All that Glitters, the French Revolution rages into the fall of 1789 with sisters Camille and Sophie prospering and their relationships with Lazare, the aeronaut, and his showman partner, Rosier, deepening romantically. After her forced marriage to a sinister magician ended in his death, Camille inherited his wealth and elegant, magic-shrouded mansion in Paris. Camille and Sophie find comfort and security within the aging H�tel S�guin where haunting portraits, books, and murmurings rekindle Camille's suppressed magical powers. Sensitized by her deceased mother's struggle with her own magical gifts, her late printer father's devotion to equality and liberty, her older brother's abuse, and her orphaned rise from poverty, Camille cannot ignore the tumultuous world around her. Her chance encounter with a group of spirited homeless girls motivates Camille to print their stories and publicize their plight. When radical voices claim that magicians are forces of evil, Camille realizes that she and her magician friends' lives are in danger. After Camille is imprisoned, Lazare, Sophie, and Rosier devise a desperate plan to save her from execution and flee to England. Historic facts provide timeless relevance and enrich the fiction: food shortages and protests, the special ops government balloon corps, scapegoat persecution of magicians, the influence of the press, and widespread demands for equal rights. Vivid descriptions of specific events and French-laced dialogue enhance the ambiance. Camille and Sophie are white, and Lazare is French and Indian; socioeconomic tiers are the primary distinctions among characters. VERDICT Diverse characters, a compelling plot, romantic tension, and Camille's internal conflict with her own magic powers fuel this intriguing story that will resonate with fantasy and historical fiction fans.-Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham Public Schools, NC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
As the French Revolution burns its way through history, Camille Durbonne and her friends must carve their path to survival in this sequel to All That Glitters (2019), originally released as Enchant�e. In a Paris in the throes of social and political change, Camille and her sister, Sophie, now have a safe house and the riches that allow them to live freely. For Camille, that means turning away from the magic that nearly destroyed their lives to become a printer like her father, producing successful pamphlets that give voice to less fortunate girls. Camille still yearns for that magic, but giving in may cost her not only the love of Lazare, the balloonist who has her heart, but her own life when the king, supported by the revolutionaries, declares all magicians traitors to France. Suddenly her beloved Paris is the most dangerous place for Camille and her friends to be. This novel features an enchanting group of characters and a thoughtful thread about Camille's progressive understanding of how her identity cannot be divorced from her magic. But as the alternate history focuses on the persecution of elite magicians, it undermines the complexities of the French Revolution and both its hopes and horrors. Both the main characters' laughable plot to save the magicians as well as one-note villains further weaken the story. Most main characters are White; Camille's beau Lazare is brown-skinned, with French and Indian heritage. Fizzles into a pat denouement instead of igniting fiery readerly devotion. (glossary, historical note) (Historical fantasy. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.