Jenny's Book Bag

“Fac quod faciendum est.”

Do what must be done.

This is a highly entertaining read! I thought about this book whenever I had to sit it down. I didn’t want to sit it down. This is both historical fiction and a mystery. I love 19th century fiction as reading about how people lived during that time period is fascinating. I can tell Jennifer Donnelly did a lot of research to write this novel as it shows in the details.
The storytelling is wonderfully done, great pacing and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I love how she ended her chapters with the little bombshells and cliffhangers – it was a great way building suspense.

The characters were very vivid, both physically and emotionally. I knew exactly what they looked like as well as their strengths, weakness and fears. The characters are likeable and believable. I loved that some of the characters were majorly screwed up, because imperfect characters add to the charm of the novel.

The protagonist, Jo, is an intelligent, stubborn, courageous, and curious-minded teenager who comes from a wealthy family with old money. I wanted her to have everything that she wanted – all the answers she was seeking and her dreams to come true.

I almost cried at the end. It was perfect. Out of the three biggest surprises, one I guessed correctly, but it was pretty late in the book when I guessed. The other two surprises were complete shockers to me, but I loved that. There were some cleverly placed hints throughout the story, but of course I didn’t realize they were hints at the time. I’d make a terrible detective.

I could see the movie of this novel playing in my mind as I was reading. I hope this novel becomes a movie! I highly recommend this book to fans of YA, historical fiction and mysteries.