Everything That Burns

Gr 9 Up–In this seamless sequel to All that Glitters, the French Revolution rages into the fall of 1789 with sisters Camille and Sophie prospering and their relationships with Lazare, the aeronaut, and his showman partner, Rosier, deepening romantically. After her forced marriage to a sinister magician ended in his death, Camille inherited his wealth and elegant, magic-shrouded mansion in Paris. Camille and Sophie find comfort and security within the aging Hôtel Séguin where haunting portraits, books, and murmurings rekindle Camille’s suppressed magical powers. Sensitized by her deceased mother’s struggle with her own magical gifts, her late printer father’s devotion to equality and liberty, her older brother’s abuse, and her orphaned rise from poverty, Camille cannot ignore the tumultuous world around her. Her chance encounter with a group of spirited homeless girls motivates Camille to print their stories and publicize their plight. When radical voices claim that magicians are forces of evil, Camille realizes that she and her magician friends’ lives are in danger. After Camille is imprisoned, Lazare, Sophie, and Rosier devise a desperate plan to save her from execution and flee to England. Historic facts provide timeless relevance and enrich the fiction: food shortages and protests, the special ops government balloon corps, scapegoat persecution of magicians, the influence of the press, and widespread demands for equal rights. Vivid descriptions of specific events and French-laced dialogue enhances the ambiance. Camille and Sophie are white, and Lazare is French and Indian; socioeconomic tiers are the primary distinctions among characters.