Book Review - Revolution

Why do you read?  Do you ever ask yourself that question?  I rarely do.  Reading has been such a big part of my life for so long, I often take it for granted.  I forget that there are some people who never read for pleasure.  (Can you imagine?) Or some people who read only non-fiction to glean true information.  (I weep for these wretched creatures, truly I do.) And many people who claim to be voracious readers but never stray from the genre involving covers with shirtless men. (And I love trash too but good grief...)

Revolution is the story of Andi, a seventeen year old having lots of trouble.  Her brother was killed two years prior.  She blames herself and takes lots of meds just to barely stay sane.  Her mom is not so lucky and has pretty much gone crazy.  Her distant (literally and figuratively) father comes back to try to clean up his mess of a family.  He commits the mom to treatment and packs Andie up for a trip to Paris.  While there, Andie discovers the diary of a young girl written during the French Revolution.
Beyond the basic story, the author tries to figure out how any of us deal with the cruel world we live in.  Is it as hopeless as it seems?

This pitiful synopsis cannot even begin to tell you what this story is about.

Ya'll...
it is so good.

Here's one reason why:

"Because God loves us, but the devil takes an interest."

This is why I read.

Not for entertainment or to gain knowledge.  Those things are just fortunate byproducts.  I read because, every now and again, you find a sentence like this.  A thought so well crafted that it makes you slam the book shut and gasp.  A sentence that literally takes your breath away.  This is why 'the pen is mightier than the sword'.  Because words have the power to change you.  And, if you are lucky, they make you better than you were.

And that's what keeps me going back.  Sure, I love a good story.  I like to be entertained.  Who doesn't? But the hours of my life spent in dusty libraries are nothing but a quest.  A search for that next great sentence.  And I can't stop until I find it.  And the next one just leaves me wanting more.

This book is also classified as 'Young Adult'.  Don't let that stop you from reading it.  It will make you happy.  It will make you sad.  And, hopefully, it will make you better.