Title: Anastasia's Secret
Author: Susanne Dunlap
Year of Publication: 2010
Genre: YA, historical fiction
Pages: 330
First Line: "We are surrounded by guards."
Summary: For Anastasia Romanova, life as the privileged daughter of Russia's last tsar is about to be torn apart by the bloodshed of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control of the government, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia. Yet even while the rebels debate the family's future with agonizing slowness, and while the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blooms between Anastasia and Sasha, a sympathetic young guard she has known since childhood. But will the strength of a love that exists in secret be enough to save Anastasia from a tragic fate?
Source: Back of book
Review: So the Romanovs totally interest me. But it seems all the fiction books I read about them are unimpressive and, in some ways, annoying. This book moved particularly slowly and I considered giving up several times. I found Anastasia to be a somewhat generic (maybe stronger than the average character, but...) character which was irritating. I did like the details which Dunlap included which she claimed, in the author's note, were as exact as she could manage. She also provided a link to a site which is supposed to have a lot of information on the Romanovs. I have yet to check it out. The book definitely could have been better. Very little happened throughout. When things were happening, I felt it was very understated and made it feel like nothing was happening at all. Not sure I would recommend this one.
Worst part: The pace almost killed me.
Best part: The historical and character details included in the book were interesting and well-placed without seeming forced.
Grade: C
Other Books by This Author: The Musician's Daughter.
No comments:
Post a Comment