Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

By: Katie Alender

Pub. Date: October 1, 2013

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 304

Source: TLA

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was a book that I have never heard of until I saw ARCs of it at TLA. I was upset that I couldn't score a copy, but my friend loaned me hers! What an awesome premise- a ghost story featuring Marie Antoinette as a bloody murderer! What's not to get excited about? Unfortunately, despite the buildup of hype in my head, the story fell flat for me. I didn't feel connected to the characters and the writing just dragged on. The only reason I gave this book three stars, instead of two, was because I could tell that the author did a bunch of research to write this book, and it was definitely evident in the writing. I loved reading about the Queen, the Palace of Versailles, and The French Revolution.

Colette is so excited to go to Paris on a school trip. She's even more excited that she gets to go with her two best friends, popular girls Hannah and Pilar. We get a first hand view of their friendship and it isn't pretty. Hannah is clearly your stereotypical, rich girl. She's mean and manipulative and she thinks she is the only one that matters. There were so many times that I wanted to shake Colette for being friends with Hannah. The friendship was very realistic though. As teenagers, we don't always do what is right. We want to fit in above everything else. So while I couldn't stand that Colette and Hannah was friends, I understood why Colette maintained that friendship.

I wasn't a huge fan of Colette. She annoyed me throughout the entire book. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that she finally started to grow up a little. My favorite characters were Jules, their tour guide while in Paris and Audrey, the "unpopular" girl. The two of them definitely jumped off the page much more than Colette did.

My favorite aspect of the story was the rich and detailed Paris setting. Everything was described so beautifully, I felt like I was on the trip experiencing everything right along with Colette. I've never been to Paris, but I always wanted to go. I especially want to visit the Eiffel Tower and Versailles, and this story has made me even more excited to finally get there.

The ghost story aspect was a little disappointing, though the murder scenes were pretty cool. You can figure out the reason behind the murders fairly quickly and it wasn't as epic I was hoping it would be. Though the twist at the end was very interesting.

I think this story is better for MG, or on the younger spectrum of YA. I think those age groups would definitely enjoy this story!