THE LOWDOWN:
Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.
But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.
Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
In her apartment high above the streets of Paris, Gabrielle Roux stood in front of the bathroom mirror, still wearing her daringly short purple dress and platform heels. The light glanced off her golden hair as she brushed it and thought back to the glittering party she had just come home from.
—ARC paperback edition
SNAPSHOT:
Colette’s story is so much more than the silly title and splashy catch-phrase filled cover would promise prospective readers. While it clearly owes to Mean Girls roots, Colette starts the story with the proverbial egg on her face: she’s hiding her parents’ divorce, and the fact that she is no longer wealthy. Which is hard to do on a school trip to Paris where your two rich besties are acting like spoiled brats.
Colette seems to have humbled quickly from her demoted status, but that doesn’t stop her from looking down on the other kids on the trip who wear their hair in braids or dress in ways she feels a child would.
Her personal character arc is more intriguing that the mystery of Marie Antoinette’s serial killing ghost. The story could have been darker and more intimate without the paranormal murders. Instead, it is a fun ride void of historical accuracy or high stakes plot, where you can watch a mean girl turn her ways around and make amends for the wrongs of her family.
Appropriate for ages 13+.
GET IT ON YOUR SHELF:
If you…
– Enjoy murder mysteries with a ghostly twist
– Have ever dreamed of visiting France
– Know people who keep their friends close and their enemies closer
– Are looking for a light, quick read
THE ESSENTIALS:
YA Supernatural Mystery
Hardcover & Ebook 304 pages
Published September 24th, 2013 by Point ISBN-10: 0545468091
(Review copy provided by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.)
Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.