Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

September 16, 2013
Alender (the Bad Girls Don’t Die series) blends contemporary fantasy with historical detail in this atmospheric story of a high school junior who travels to Paris on a school trip and gets swept up in a centuries-old mystery involving a secret society and a vengeful ghost. Colette Iselin feels like she’s come home when she gets to France, eager to see the historical landmarks. But soon she has to juggle her growing affection for the handsome tour guide with her increasingly high-maintenance friends, all while dodging the attentions of the alluring Armand, who’s convinced Colette is connected to the long-forgotten Order of the Key. When a spirit targets the Order’s descendants for death, Colette tries to save her friends and herself. Alender skillfully weaves together the novel’s disparate elements to create a story that mixes slice-of-life teen drama with supernatural menace, infused with the sights, sounds, and tastes of a Paris that comes to life in the process. While some plot points never quite get off the ground, it’s an otherwise strong effort. Ages 12–up. Agent: Matthew Elblonk, DeFiore and Company.

September 1, 2013
A family trinket leads an American student in Paris to an undercurrent of ancestral deceit and supernatural murder. Colette Iselin is about to leave on a nine-day school trip to Paris. She summers in New York City. And her best girlfriends are two very rich queen bees. A perfect life--except that Colette's parents are divorced, and Colette is too terrified (and shallow) to tell her besties she shops secondhand. On the eve of her departure, she finds a family heirloom necklace. What initially seems just a pretty accessory proves to be a link to a secret society sworn to protect Marie Antoinette--and its heirs are being mysteriously decapitated. Even as Colette explores this grisly, dangerous puzzle, she plays an emotional tug of war, torn between wanting to be herself and wanting to fit in. From sweet and fickle Colette to a consummate mean girl to an unassuming heartthrob, archetypes of chick-lit abound, along with supernatural chills and well-researched accuracy. Though Alender's heroine might be too shaky to stand on her own feet at times, the descriptions of Parisian streets, bistros, monuments and meals are sturdy. Colette is likable, but her temperament is as bumpy as the ancient, cobbled streets she explores; though sometimes frustrating, it makes her all the more genuine. All the flavor of a macaron, bound by a ganache of sweet, supernatural grit. (Supernatural chick-lit. 13 & up)

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December 1, 2013

Gr 7-10-All Colette Iselin wants is to be accepted by perfect, icy Hannah and her slightly sweeter sidekick, Pilar. This means pretending that her family still has money and being mean to her brother, her mother, her unpopular classmates, her teacher, and pretty much anyone else who crosses her path. However, on a class trip to France, Colette gets distracted from her quest to be cool. First, she starts seeing Marie Antoinette's ghost (which would distract most people) and begins to fall for her nerdy-cute French tour guide. Colette realizes that the ghost is killing people and that she is next on the list, due to her family's heretofore secret role in the French Revolution. None of this is very believable, and even the realistic elements don't always ring true, as Colette and her classmates rarely step out of their stereotypes. The plot strands come together, complete with an Eiffel Tower kiss and a party held at Versailles. That said, the story moves along at a steady clip and every so often devolves into delicious, campy mayhem. This is a good choice for teens who want to dip their toes into historical fiction (emphasis on the fiction) without giving up cinematic pacing or romance. Colette transforms through the course of the novel, realizing the value of loyalty over prestige, and though that process might not be believable, many readers will find her story enjoyable.-Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Colette struggles to keep up appearances (and placate her snobbish friends) after her parents' divorce. A class trip to Paris is a welcome distraction, but ghostly visions of Marie Antoinette and a series of gruesome socialite murders lead Colette into a supernatural mystery that spans back to the French Revolution. Underdeveloped characters and trite teenage issues detract from the camp.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)