The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland - NO

The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland, 352 pages.  Viking (Penguin), 2018.  $19.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY:  HS – NOT RECOMMENDED

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Hortense fiercely misses her father, who was guillotined during the Terror.  But she soldiers on with her days at her exclusive French boarding school.  When her mother remarries – this time to an upstart general, Napoleon.  The only good thing about that is that Hortense can hopefully get closer to one of the handsome officers.

Sometimes historical fiction needs to veer sharply away from the source material in order to create a book that will spark interest in a reader – like this one should have.  In the end I just wasn’t interested in whatever Hortense might be hoping for.  A book from her point of view did not bring me more insight to the world in Napoleon’s time, more background to interest me in Napoleon as a person, nor was it a great romance with rich historical details that would fill my soul with the sights, sounds, and personalities of old France.  

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS