Revolution

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelley follows Andi, a suicidal young girl dealing with the aftermath of her brothers death.  Andi who is flunking out of school is dragged to Paris by her geneticist father who is doing tests on a heart to determine if it belongs to a young prince who was killed during the revolution.  Andi finds a diary of a young girl, Alexandra who had a close relationship with the prince and becomes engrossed in the diary and her research.

This book had many intricate layers woven together and for the most part it worked.  It took me several chapters before I got into the book because Andi at first is so unlikeable.  She's spoiled, mentally ill and constantly popping pills.  Alexandra's story ultimately is what keeps the reader interested for most of the story while Alex is relegated to narrating and explaining the history.  When the diary is over the reader is given an irritating plot device to wrap everything up.  However, even with the problems this is a very engrossing read.

Appropriateness:  This is an extremely complex book that I think will speak most to the high school and above young adult audience.  There are also some adult situations which while are situational and appropriate for a high school audience would cause some concern with middle school aged readers.  The main character is suicidal and pops heavy duty anti-depressants like they are candy and spends large chunks of the book hallucinating and stoned because of the number of pills she's popped.  She follows people she meets on the street and gets herself in several dangerous situations.  None of these bad behaviors are seen as positive and could easily be combated by talking to your child about prescription drug abuse, depression and suicide.