Sovay, by Celia Rees

July 2009, Bloomsbury (first published 2008)
420 pages
Review Copy

Historical, children's (12+)

Cushions: 4/5
Daggers: 1/5
Smiles: 1/5
Tissues: 2/5
Yunaleska's recommended rating ♥♥♥♥♥

Who wouldn't like the idea of a female highwayman, who is really a member of the noble class? Why does Sovay risk her life for a bit of fun? Well, she wants to test her fiance, to see if his love is true. It isn't. To say Sovay was annoyed is an understatement. However, she has more pressing matters on her mind: like the warrent for the arrest of her father, for his ideas which match those in France. Where is her brother? Is he with her father? Not one to sit around waiting for the answers to reach her, Sovay sets out, once again disguised as a highwayman. Little does she know it'll take her to less desirable parts of the city where no respectable young lady will go, or deep into the lair of a man who truly could be said to be a greater threat than the revolutionists. Torture, on any level is wrong. The methods of this man go beyond the usual evil mastermind's cruelty.

What begins as a search of answers turns into a great turning point in Sovay's life. She discovers who she wants to be, what kind of person society will let her be within the constraints of the eighteenth century. Along the way she meets aid in a variety of forms, of all whom potentially could become her husband. I enjoyed Sovay so much because her life is exciting. She purposefully puts herself in danger, but also because she hasn't been brought up on the street she is lacking street smarts. It's a good thing that she has several guardians watching over her - she doesn't quite have as many lives as a cat, but she acts like she does.

Equally pleasing was how romance was dealt with in Sovay - tastefully, as more of a sideissue than the main focus of the story. There are the odd blushable moments, and intimation of relations which aren't the usual male-female partnership, but nothing worthy of more than one paperclip.

Even now, several books on from when I read it I can recall the thrill as she races out to stop passing carriages, the courage of her friends as they stand beside her to fight for her, and the way she matures over the book and understands that sometimes admitting temporary defeat can ultimately bring about an overall win.

I have to admit, there were several incidents, but most especially the end, when I didn't see how she could survive. The terrors that Sovay misses, and those she encounters, made me reflect on how life was for the revolutionaries, and sadly still is in some parts of the world. Sometimes I don't think mankind has progressed that much in regard to treatment of others. I feel Sovay is a great introduction into the French revolution, providing lots to think about throughout the novel.

Nothing in particular springs to mind about anything I wasn't keen on. It's a book I'm keeping safely on my shelf.

Celia Rees' website, which includes where she got the inspiration for Sovay, is here.

If you liked this, try The Lady In The Tower by Marie-Louise Jensen