Nemesis and the Swan

This well-written and beautifully performed story about the French Revolution is seen through the eyes of a young aristocrat. H�l�ne d'Aubign's life is recounted in flashbacks as she awaits trial in jail. Narrator Sarah Naughton draws listeners in with her splendid pronunciation of the French phrases scattered throughout this audiobook. Naughton's most stunning scene is the near rape that occurs after H�l�ne refuses to marry a man she does not love. The brutal drama and sexual threat Naughton generates may keep listeners awake for hours. H�l�ne must find her place in the new Paris, and she also must find her true identity. The history is factual, the characters are authentic, and Sarah Naughton is superb. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

August 15, 2020
A French teen searches for her identity against a backdrop of revolution. In Paris in the summer of 1792, 19-year-old H�l�ne d'Aubign, daughter of a French marquis, is thrown into prison--though she doesn't know who accused her or what her crime is. The story flashes back nine years and recounts her growing up with an idealistic governess, unfeeling mother, and domineering father. Alternately indulged and oppressed, she falls in love with Th�o, a jeweler's apprentice. When villagers kill her father and set fire to the family's ch�teau, H�l�ne and her mother escape to her mother's family, whom she's never met. H�l�ne begins to unearth family secrets while plotting to return to Th�o, but when she manages to reach Paris she is met with news that changes everything. She settles into life as an ordinary citizen, but danger still lurks--brief prison scenes interrupt the narrative until the timelines converge at H�l�ne's trial. Bandy's debut features credible historical detail, an engaging narrator, and a sweet romance. Lulls in the pacing slow momentum, and the ending sacrifices credibility for convenience. Ultimately, this is an above-average history and romance, though less satisfying in terms of the mystery. Major characters are White; H�l�ne's radical governess introduces her to her lover, a formerly enslaved Black abolitionist. A lush portrayal of personal and national struggles let down by a rushed ending. (Historical fiction. 12-18)

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October 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 Sixteen-year-old H�l�ne was born to a life of luxury in late eighteenth-century France. Despite her privileged upbringing, a revolutionary governess and H�l�ne's love for a jeweler's apprentice (a boy far below her status) spark the spirit of rebellion within her. But her personal rebellion is nothing compared to the one sweeping her country, a movement that sees her old life burned to the ground. This intrigue-soaked work of historical fiction feels entirely of the past and yet also incredibly relevant. The choice to toggle back and forth between H�l�ne's stay in a French prison as the revolution reaches a fever pitch and the years leading up to it keep the dramatic tension tight. Still, with a family mystery at the heart of the story, a second mystery asking how and why she ended up in jail seems unnecessary. That aside, Bandy has penned a story of revolutions, both large scale and deeply personal, weaving them through the narrative in a powerful way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)