The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner   Previous review     /     Next review Back to shortlist

Tegh
Year 9
Brighton College

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner is a historical fantasy which is about two main protagonists called Yann and Sido. Both are opposite, one is aristocratic and the other an actor. The story is about how they meet and how their story is intertwined with the French revolution.   

During this book I felt a vast array of feeling from sadness to joy and these feelings do vary from one chapter to the other.

This book was a tiny bit boring at the start but the story really gets interesting  and the storyline flew easily then. As this book has many characters it was a tiny bit hard to follow at times but in general it was easy to understand, using simple but meaningful vocabulary. This book was not at all predictable and made you keep guessing.

In conclusion I will rate this book 4.75/5 as it did have many sub-protagonists and was a tiny bit hard to follow.

Matthew
Year 9
Beacon Community College

The Red Necklace is a gripping book, with a very good opening. This grips the reader, later on in the book it takes more patience as the story slows down but it is worth the wait. The story is rich and thrilling, containing all the great elements of a top class story. The great descriptions allow the reader to create a mental picture in their heads to help fully enjoy this book. The book is mainly set around the French Revolution but at times we see the relationship sparking. A must read!

Jainaba
Davison CE High School for Girls Technology College
Shadowing School

I vote for the book The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner because it is written with lots of description and detail that you just stick to the book and never lose interest. It has a love story that is forbidden and love of tragedy  and murder.

Miriam
Year 9
Brighton & Hove High School

This book was very gripping, I felt mixed emotions, mostly; curiosity that made me want to read on; surprise; excitement; sadness that made my heart sink and thrill. It is very well written and forces your imagination to work hard. It could be difficult to understand if you didn’t read often. It kept me guessing all the way through, a real page turner, and a much-loved book.

Hebe
Year 9
Benenden School

The Red Necklace is not just a pretty piece of jewellery but the sign of a murder and intrigue. Sido never knew that when her mother died in a coach crash she was found wearing a red necklace, nor did she know that two other women had been found dead wearing a red necklace and all the women had been intimately acquainted with the Count Kalliovski. She also didn’t realise that if she did not please the Count she could be the next person to wear the Red Necklace. Yann is a simple street boy from a completely different background. He works for an actor doing magic acts, but unlike most magicians he can actually do real magic; throws his voice, read people’s minds, even pulls on the strings of light. After one performance at the famous Marquis House death follows him whether he likes it or not, but death is not the only thing that follows him. Sido gets attached to him and him to her. Together they will get through the Revolution that pulls France apart. This book is both fun and educational and shows us life and powers beyond our imagination.

Georgie
Year 9
Benenden School

I think it starts pretty slowly but when you get into it, it gets better. Yann Margoza is an out-of-the-ordinary boy that gets involved in the French Revolution and gets drowned in mysteries to solve. I particularly like the parts with Sido and Yann as they relate a bit better to teenagers. I think the characters interacted well together and overall it is a very good book.

Iona
Year 9
Benenden School

The Red Necklace is about Sido and Yann during the French Revolution. When Yann performs at Sido’s father’s house Count Kalliovski shoots his ‘master’. The Count then decides to kill Yann. Yann is sent to London with help from his friend Tetu. Later Yann returns to save Sido and to stop Kalliovski. Even though this book is a bit slow at the start, it picks up the pace and has a good ending. I found that the book grew on me. I liked the characters and the way they are portrayed in the book.

Sophie
Year 9
Benenden School

This book is a very fulfilling read, as a type of murder mystery book. I enjoyed reading it once it got going. It is obvious that a lot of research and hard work has gone into the book. I would recommend it as it was really easy to get stuck into. It is the type of book I would love to escape into on a horrible day.

Jemima
Year 9
Benenden School

This book has many different aspects, history, magic, greed, love and most importantly mystery. The close bonds of a group of magicians are devastated when one of them dies. There is one person to blame but people that they have to convince of his guilt. I personally feel that the book was very good but in some parts could have been more gripping. The characters were written well and the relationships between them were believable. The ending however was very gripping and well written and even though I would have ended it differently I don’t think it spoilt the ending in any way.

Adrien
Lycée Henri Avril – Lamballe (France) 
Shadowing School

The story takes place during the french revolution. The main character, Yann Margoza, has some magical powers. He's the assistant of a false magician with Tétu, a dwarf. But one day the magician recognizes someone he's already met. He's killed but Yann and Tétu escape.

I liked this book because I like magic. Futhermore I think this book is interesting even if it was sometimes confusing.
All in all, I really recommend this book.

Rebecca
Year 9
Peacehaven Community School

This book was great. I would recommend it to anyone who likes history or reading historical novels. Full of mysteries and excitement, a really great book to read.

Connor
Year 9
St Richard's Catholic College

This book, by Sally Gardener, is a gripping story of the time leading up to, and including, the French Revolution.

Read the story of Yann, a magician's assistant, who can read minds and throw his voice extremely well. He witnesses a murder and escapes from the evil grips of Count Kalliovski, who seems to have an unlimited supply of money. But he steals some of the most treasured secrets that France's noblemen have to offer.

Follow the tale of Sido, the daughter of the most foolish nobles. She is unloved, but sees Yann as the only person who could ever love her.

The excitement moves from Paris to London, then all the way back again, and Yann slowly learns more about his ancestors.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the French Revolution.

Simisola
Year 9
Roedean School

The book is set in Paris, France during the French Revolution. The story is about Yann Margoza, a young boy with telepathic powers, who travels with his friend and mentor, a magician. The French Revolution starts and everything changes. I thought the plot was very unpredictable and original and the characters were very believable; it was obvious Count Kalliovski was a devious man and Sido a neglected child. My favourite part of the story was when Yann met Sido in the chateau. The book ended on a big cliffhanger but in a way that I thought was good.

Kimberley
Year 10
St Richard's Catholic College

‘The Red Necklace’ is set mainly during the French Revolution. The histories of Yann and Sido are intertwined, meaning that they need each other if they are to survive.
I didn’t really enjoy or understand this book and it is not really the type of book that I would normally read. I would recommend this book for older children and adults.I would give this book 4/10.

Luke
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

Delilah
Year 9
Hove Park School

The Red Necklace is about a boy Yann and his two friends Tetu and Toplain. Yann has the power to read people's minds to know what they are thinking. They try to rescue a girl called Sido, who is both bullied and ignored by her father. I found the book really good and interesting. I think the middle and ending are the best bits as the beginning is a bit slow and not as interesting. I enjoyed the book and I recommend this book to anyone .

Ruth
Year 8
St Richard's Catholic College

‘The Red Necklace’ is set in the bloody times of the French revolution. It closely follows the build up of the revolution, which goes from Paris to London and back with Yann Margoza the star of this terrifying tale. He is a gypsy who works with his friend the dwarf Tétu as part of a magician’s act with the ill-fated Topolain. Then he meets Sido, daughter of a pampered daft Marquis who is left as an imperfection in the Marquis’s house.

Dean
Year 8
Beacon Community College

Based during the French Revolution, this is a fast paced book that takes the story from Paris to London and back again. I found it was an extremely gripping book and very hard to put down.

Naomi
Year 7
Seaford Head

One boy, one city and one mystery….

This book is hard to read and started off very slowly. It had a good story line and it twists and turns in all directions. Even though it starts slowly it somehow had a little thing in it that kept me reading. I would rate this book 6/10.

Oliver
Year 9
Brighton College

Red Necklace is a book full of romance, mystery and fast paced action. I would thoroughly recommend it to a person looking to be baffled by “what happens next?” each time you put it down. It is a book that is generally for thirteen year olds but would still be enjoyed by anyone else. The book is set amongst a time of upper class hardship, the French Revolution, and the main characters are caught up in it whether they like it or not, which will become a great conflict to build on. 

My only criticism of this book is it is difficult to get into and for the start you will just have to bear with it and eventually you will get into it.

Charlotte
Year 10
St Richard's Catholic College

Yann Margoza is a young gypsy boy, working in a theatre with his only friend Tétu, doing tricks including ventriloquism.
Count Kalliovski is evil and he’s been blackmailing half of Paris. He decides that now is the time for them to pay him back or else...  Follow the tale of murder, blackmail and young romance in this thrilling story.

 I enjoyed this book but at the beginning I found it quite hard to concentrate and read, because it was quite boring. It did do me quite a bit of good and helped me understand the French Revolution. It did go a little over the top at times but I still quite enjoyed it. 7/10

Georgie
Year 9
Lancing College

I thought that The Red Necklace had a very good story line and setting (in the French Revolution). I think the setting was so good because not many other books have been written based in this time period. I thought that the characters were very well described and presented (my favourite was Yann.) I also enjoyed the twists and turns in this book like finding out about Yann’s history and about the red necklace. Although I did enjoy it, it took me a surprisingly long time to read it (about a week) and I found that the way it was written was slightly hard to read but I thought that the story was very good and it is in my top 3. I would definitely recommend it to fellow readers as it showed action, adventure, mystery and even magic!

Lydia
Year 9
Brighton College

The Red Necklace, by Sally Gardner, is about a boy who goes on a journey, along the way finding out who he really is and he goes through many tough ordeals, including the supposed death of his best friend and mentor, Tetu, and the danger that his one true love is in. He risks a lot to go and save her.

This book outlines the enormity of the French Revolution and it carries a general theme throughout: mystery and murder. It is a thoroughly well written book which keeps you hanging off every chapter and Gardner fully manages to portray the emotions of love and despair. Overall I would give this book a 4/5.

Davina
Year 9
Brighton College

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner is set at the time of the French Revolution.

I felt that the book was confusing in that it wasn't always clear who was talking and whether it was in England or France at that moment. It had a magical feeling about it and there was lots of description but almost too much, bogging it down in detail and not giving you enough time to think about the story line.

If there is a sequel to this book, I would think very carefully before bothering to start it.

Sophie S.
Year 9
Roedean School

The Red Necklace is about a boy called Yann and a girl called Sido. They meet one day when Sido’s rich and pompous father is throwing a party to thank Count Kalliovski. Little did he know that it would all end tragically. The story is set in France, during the time of the French Revolution and  is gripping, exciting and unpredictable. The characters have strong and defined personalities, which helps the story and plot. The ending was happy but a bit annoying as it almost finished on a cliff-hanger. I would definitely recommend The Red Necklace to other  readers.

Saya
Year 11
Homewood School

The Red Necklace is set during the French revolution and follows the lives of several characters, particularly Yann a young French boy. The book is very plot-heavy and is full of action which I liked, there is always something happening which means that it is never dull.

There are plenty of characters to the story, some of whom we meet and some we don’t, which can be slightly confusing at times when trying to remember who is who! What is also interesting about this book is the way it swings from one character's perspective to another’s quiet suddenly, this also adds a little to the confusion. Of course all of the characters relate to one another in some way therefore the connection gradually becomes clear as the story line builds up revealing the clues.

At no point did I truly guess what was going to happen which worked well to build the suspense in areas where the plot demanded it.  The story is set over a couple of years of the revolution and by the size of the book the author has obviously crammed a lot in which I think makes this book a very enjoyable read.

Anja
Year 10
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

Shannon
Year 8
St Richard's Catholic College

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner was a bit boring and confusing in the middle as there were so many characters, but by the end I was so hooked I couldn’t put it down! One of my favourite parts of the book was when Yann went to see the gypsy fortune teller and told him that his true love was Sido. Now that I have found out about a sequel to this book I will definitely be reading it. I would recommend this book to 11-14 year old girls.

Rosie
Year 10
St Richard's Catholic College

This historic novel really appealed to my tastes for adventure and mystery, I love the way the writer concealed everyone’s identity until the very last moment, and when she did reveal those certain pieces of information it really changed the way you saw the whole book. I felt that the characters were hard to relate to, and some of the relationships were very predictable. The ending of the book, however, was a let down in my opinion, so overall I give this book 9/10.

Emma
Year 9
Homewood School

The start of The Red Necklace was captivating and from that point I was pulled into a world where revolution was brewing and the hands of time were changing .

Yann has a gift, and along with his two good friends, Topolian and Tetu, they amaze the theatre goers of Paris. But with a single invitation to perform in front of the Marquis de Villeduval and his high society friends, including the troublesome Count Kalliovski, their world is turned upside down. Yann recognises the Count from days he wishes not to remember. From here the reader is dragged into the violence of the revolution and on the journey I felt a number of emotions, so many in fact that I cannot list them.  An extremely good read and at times heart-warming. It has everything that a book should have, even a bit of magic!

I would rate The Red Necklace on a scale of 0-5; 4. This is a serious contender this year.

Sophie
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

Lucy
Year 9
St Richard's Catholic College

The Red Necklace is a story based in France, Paris, during the French revolution. The two main characters are Yann Margoza, a young French man of low class and not a posh upbringing and Sido de Villeduval, a young French lady who spent a large amount of her life in a convent because of her father Marquis de Villeduval. Marquis de Villeduval was a pompous man who only cared for himself and treated everyone else like dirt.

The language used in the story is partly old-fashioned English and modern English used today. This gives the story a good atmosphere and feeling to it and helps it to be an easy read and helps you to imagine the actual scene in your head with real people. An example of this is ‘The savagery of grief tore at Yann, filled him with rage, stripped him of his gift for reading people’s minds. All that was left was the silence of heartache.’ This puts a clear picture in my mind of Yann stressed out and filled with grief and sadness and rage.

This is a brilliant book and is a well-deserving book for the award.
Star:
  (5/5)     

Matthew
Year 8
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

The plot of this book is easy to follow, but I had never read a plot like it before!The characters are great, but the magic they use is not so believable. I though the ending could have been better.

Esther
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

The plot of this book is easy to follow, even though it jumps from people's points of view. The characters are really believable and I especially like the dwarf. The end is satisfying, but I didn't want it to end!

Ella
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

The plot set in Paris in 1789 was original and not at all predictable! The characters were interesting and the ending surprised me; it wasn't what I thought it would be! The description of the show was very good and was my favourite bit.

Emily
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

Set at the time of the French Revolution, this book had some good characters in it, they seemed real. I liked the book all the way though, but as it finished with a cliff-hanger, I am glad there is a sequel! A great story.

Patrick
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

This is a boring boy-meets-girl story, boy-saves-girl, but it does have a magical twist to it. The ending was good enough, but you could tell there would be a sequel.

Sam
Year 9
Lancing College

The Red Necklace had everything I could want from a book keeping me entertained and unknowingly attached to the plot all the time. I found myself sometimes frustrated as I could not collect all the hints carefully noted and described until the end. This is what made me read on - if I would have stopped reading all my questions would have been unfulfilled. I had no idea how quickly I devoured this book staying up later to finish the last paragraph and finishing my homework quicker to read it. When I finished The Red Necklace I found a part of me was gone, the part longing for mystery and adventure. The first book I read set a very high standard but The Red Necklace kept the standard and went above and beyond. Although it did have an unfair advantage as I love historical novels, as I love History and English. This is my favourite book yet and I hope the next book I read can keep the standard.

Leo
Year 9
Hove Park School

The Red Necklace, a book set back in the French Revolution, has magic, murder and secrets, but no guillotine. I mean, it has the word “Guillotine” on the front and it’s mentioned once or twice, but nothing. It has its good bits, but the ending is just too uncertain…

I give this book 5/10 - it should be slightly more descriptive…

Claudia
Year 7
Seaford Head Community College 

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner is about mystery, murder, serious passion, and life-threatening magic.  It is very intense and heart-pounding in every way.

One magic act, one Count of France and one tampered gun is all it takes in this story…It all starts when Topolain’s magic act stars at the Count’s home…it can’t be good!  They were in the Count’s home waiting on the stage to perform their act.  When Tetu hears a voice saying that tonight’s no time for magic he warns the others.  Yann believed him but Topolain was going to risk his life for the regular performance act at the Count’s own house.  One bullet shot in the heart, the most dangerous in magic acts.

Then the Count raises his hand as audience volunteer (things just get worse).  He gets ready to fire…he shot, he scored…he was now a murderer.  The audience knew nothing of it as they left for the second part of the entertainment.  But it was an accident.  Or was it the fact that it was destiny?  Read the book to find out!!!

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner is an amazing book with everything that you aspire to read.  It is a dark novel that has a lot of tension.  If it was an elastic band it would snap!  I wouldn’t usually read this kind of book but I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.

If I had to rate this book on a scale of one to ten I would give it a 9!  It may be absolutely fabulous but as I said it isn’t really my kind of book.  But for this genre I would say it is one of the best books (of this genre) that I have ever read.

Jessica
Year 10
St Richard's Catholic College

I thought the idea behind this book was good but found it quite hard to follow in places.

It is set during the French Revolution and follows the story of Yann, a gypsy boy.The plot is fast-paced and the story takes place in both France and London. I found it hard to follow where exactly certain parts were happening. I would say this book was historical fiction, but readers do not have to know much about the French Revolution to understand it.

I would recommend this to boys and girls aged 10 – 13.

Amy
Year 9
Bishop Bell CE Mathematics and Computing Specialist School

The Red Necklace is a really enjoyable book. I loved the story and it kept me entertained throughout. The book had everything - suspense, murder, magic and love, which I thought was a winning combination. I didn't want it to end!