The Pale Assassin, by Patricia Elliott
Young Adult, 2009
After Sophie and her brother Armand find themselves in the middle of the French Revolution with their guardian fleeing to safety, Sophie must find a way to survive in Paris despite being an aristocrat, while her brother joins the revolutionists. But not all friends are true, and there looms the Pale Assassin as a threat to everything she holds dear.
Ok, I didn't like Murkmere, her first book, but I love to read about the French Revolution, so I thought I'd try this one out. I was, I'm afraid, disappointed. (I'm so sorry this seems to be a trend lately!) Sophie is the spoiled girl you think she is, but she seems to grow up very quickly and without any scenes that show her transformation. The Pale Assassin is really anything but except in the very first scene when he's all mad. And the revolutionaries (including Armand and the 'odious but attractive' Julien) never really do anything but have meetings in dark cellars. When they DO do something, they always fail. Perhaps it's entirely historically accurate, but I was hoping for more of a Scarlet Pimpernelle approach.
Graded a C+.
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