Enchantée, by Gita Trelease
Paris is a labyrinth of twisted
streets filled with beggars and thieves, revolutionaries and magicians. Camille
Durbonne is one of them. She wishes she weren’t...
When smallpox kills her parents, Camille
must find a way to provide for her younger sister while managing her volatile
brother. Relying on magic, Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal
into money to buy food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold
their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille
pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette.
Using dark magic forbidden by her
mother, Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at
the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for magic. As
she struggles to reconcile her resentment of the rich with the allure of
glamour and excess, Camille meets a handsome young inventor, and begins to
believe that love and liberty may both be possible.
But magic has its costs, and soon
Camille loses control of her secrets. And when revolution erupts, Camille must
choose―love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, reality or magic―before Paris
burns.
“Enchantée is a soaring
success. I can think of no more satisfying way to fly across the years and
enjoy a gilded view of Paris as it never was but could have been, with a little
magic.” ―NPR
“Romance and fantasy readers will
enjoy the magic realism, ruse and tension of Camille's double identity,
authentic historical references, and Camille's daring, passionate spirit. A
must-have.” ―School Library Journal, starred review
“An immersive, glittering debut that
intriguingly blends history and fantasy. A striking examination of power,
privilege, and choice in a limited world makes Trelease a new voice to watch.”
―ALA Booklist
