Historical Fiction Pick: The Lacemaker and the Princess

After taking one month off from blogging to finish writing a novel, I figure I'd better get back to doing some recommending!

I just finished reading The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, a sumptious tale of a young girl who witnesses the French Revolution firsthand.

Isabelle is a poor lacemaker who, through an extraordinary turn of events, becomes the playmate of Therese, daughter of the King and Queen of France (better known as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette).

Bradley does a wonderful job of painting a picture of the French Revolution both from the side of the disgruntled, starving citizens of France and the blissful ignorance and extravagance of the royalty. Isabelle is put in the interesting position of understanding both sides of the battle -- Therese is her friend who lavishes riches on her, but outside of the walls of Versailles, Isabelle's family lives in squalor.

I'm a great fan of literature set during this period, but this book presented such a unique vantage point that is rare in a novel for kids. We sympathize with all the characters in the book -- through the eyes of an innocent young girl who tries to see good in everyone. We are also left with a vivid picture of France at the time -- from the poorest sections of Paris to the opulence of Versailles with its blood-red marble walls.

What a wonderful book for any middle schooler through high schooler. I love it when an author can make history come alive -- and author Bradley has done just that in The Lacemaker and the Princess.