Friday, May 4, 2012

The Revolution of Sabine




The Revolution of Sabine
Beth Levine Ain
$16.99, Hardcover
Candlewick, 2008
978-0763633967
January 1st, 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age: 12+
Description: Sabine Durand, 16-year-old daughter of French aristocrats, is expected to live up to her role in proper society—appearing at the correct social engagements and behaving like a lady so she’ll secure a wealthy husband. Sabine is fine with all this until she rekindles a childhood friendship with her governess’s son, Michel. After seeing her reading Voltaire’s Candide, Michel whisks her away to her first salon experience were she meets the famous Benjamin Franklin. Soon Sabine realizes that she was never happy with the role society wanted her to play and she decides to take control of her own life as she finds herself in love with Michel but being forced into an arranged marriage with an older boy who doesn’t love her. 
Opinion: The Revolution of Sabine is a little slow to start, but the story picks up once Sabine sits for a portrait and is given a copy of Candide to concentrate on. While the likelihood of a 16-year-old girl going to an intellectual salon meeting and being introduced to Benjamin Franklin is a little far fetched, the plot remains interesting as a historical story. One can’t but help feel for Sabine as she realizes just how much society controls her life just because she was born a girl.

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