Duo Review: The Red Necklace, by Sally Gardner

Today, our duo review includes 3 reviews. One by Trackgeek, who just recently finished it, which is included before, and one by me, which you can read here. Our third reviewer is April from Good Books and Wine and you can read her review here. Our grades are listed by Trackgeek's.



The Red Necklace, by Sally Gardner
Young Adult, 2007

This was an excellent story. Historical fiction with a mix of magic has lately been very popular, and not everyone does it well. Sometimes magic, or the supernatural is mixed in and doesn’t fit at all and just clutters the story. In this case Gardner has done an excellent job of intriguing the reader with the supernatural content and adding the necessary elements of romance, action and intrigue. I even appreciated the flow of time in the book, at one point several years pass in about a page, which was fine, it didn’t have anything to do the present plot except that time had passed. The only knock was on the writing side of things, as parts did feel rushed and awkward. Overall an excellent read. Graded a B+

Raspberry - Graded a B+, and yes I own the Silver Blade, but I haven't read it yet because of other books that need to be returned to the library.
April - "This wasn't the worst book I've ever read, not by a long shot. But it's in my top 10 awkward books. I hear I, Coriander by the same author is really good, so if this review puts you out, then maybe you should check out I, Corriander instead. Also, this book reminded me of soda which has gone flat. Soda's got the potential to be really great despite the calories, but when it's flat it's not worth drinking unless you are dying of thirst, and in that case you should probs drink water instead!"