Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

All right, my wordiness is decreasing as the number of books I have yet to review increases. So, bullet points!

The Good:

• This was a fascinating glimpse into a different side of Belle Epoque life, and I think it works well as a counter-balance to the kind of glamorized image that one usually sees
• Maude was an engaging main character, and I liked her journey to discovering who she is and where she fits in the world
• The central theme of beauty versus worth was nicely done, I thought, and seemed good without being preachy–a hard balance to pull off
• I also think that the story would appeal to both historical fiction fans, and people who aren’t normally that interested in historical fiction

The Not-quite-as-good:

• The sentence level writing was occasionally iffy–the use of ‘whom’ was distracting, annoying, and didn’t always seem to be correct
• Although I liked this one a lot, it never flat-out amazed me, and I really wanted it to
• I wanted more about the friendship between Isabelle and Maude, which seemed to me to be at once the heart of the book, and the most under-developed aspect

All in all, this is one I would recommend to any number of people, though not necessarily in a super-gushy way.

Book source: public library
Book information: Delacorte (Random House), 2013; YA, historical fiction

I read this book for the 2013 Cybils. You’ll be able to see all of my Cybils reviews by clicking here.

Cover talk: I really have problems with the cover, which seems to contradict so much of what the book says about beauty. I know that covers are meant to sell books, but surely there’s a way to do that which doesn’t undermine the story inside? The overall packaging is gorgeous–all those lovely swirly lines–but I don’t believe that the girl on the cover is Maude, and that’s a problem.