The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

I’ll admit I have to start with a bit of cover controversy because every female character is dark haired and the damsel on the cover is platinum blonde!  I suppose the cover artist knew nothing about the book and thought it focused on Marie Antoinette, but anyway…  I enjoyed it.  I truly did.  The story lent itself well to the third person allowing us to get a better view of events.  Though Yann is the protagonist if we were just to follow him the backdrop would be very bland I think but instead you get a rich portrait painted from the eyes of an impartial observer.  The core of this plot is the adventure with the hints of mystery.  I guessed Yann’s mystery, but not Sido’s and boy did I enjoy someone getting the drop on me.  There is also interesting commentary on the French Revolution and how our high ideas don’t always turn out so great while in contrast Kalliovski is the dragon and Yann is the knight in shining armor.  Good and evil are a clear line though that is not to say Yann is utterly without character development.  Oh and yes though this is definitely historical fiction I do love that little drizzle of Gypsy magic!