Tsarina

November 25, 2013
As Patrick (a pseudonym for writer Jackson Pearce) remarks in an author’s note, the Russian Revolution doesn’t need fictionalization to be fascinating. Still, she plays fast and loose with the facts in her hybrid historical/fantasy novel about 16-year-old noblewoman Natalya Kutepova during the turbulent months of 1917. Patrick merges the February and October revolutions into a few autumn weeks; turns Alexei Romanov into Natalya’s 16-year-old longtime love interest, cured of hemophilia by a magical Faberge egg (he was actually executed at 13); and makes Rasputin’s daughter Maria queen of the Russian mystics. The result is a fast-paced adventure—with the requisite romantic undercurrents—as Natalya and her countess friend, fleeing the violence of St. Petersburg, are kidnapped by a passionate young Red who knows Natalya can lead him to the powerful egg. Undergoing an avalanche of obstacles, the trio builds a curious bond that pulls them closer even as their political beliefs push them apart. Climaxing in a mystical struggle for the magical object, the book’s murky finish confirms Natalya’s deep love for Russia but casts some confusion as to her future. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from November 15, 2013
A Russian countess, Natalya Kutepov passionately fights the Red revolutionaries in an attempt to save her country, her heart and a precious Faberge egg. When their gentle world is turned upside down one cold night by a mob on a rampage, Natalya and her friend, Emilia, try to flee St. Petersburg for the safety of Paris. They are thwarted by a young Red named Leo, who tries to use them as a way to get to the powerful Constellation Egg. Given magic, mystical powers by Rasputin before he died, it keeps the royal Romanov family in power and protects those they love. Beloved of the tsarevitch, Natalya has a personal investment in the egg, and to protect it, she taps into internal reservoirs of strength and cunning she's never been required to access before. Caught in the frozen landscape of Russia during the revolution, the three young adults embody the hope, terror, conviction and patriotism seething in the warring crowds that surround them. Eventually, Natalya comes to understand the deeply personal reverberations of the revolution: "[T]he rioters in St. Petersburg weren't Leo any more than the nobles who fled the country early on were me." Patrick treats her heavy subject with welcoming, graceful prose. Romance, adventure, magic and history blend seamlessly into a story that is not just historically sensitive and gloriously thrilling--it's essential moral reading. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Natalya Kutepova and Alexei Romanov are in love, and though she is not of royal blood, everyone expects that Tsar Nicholas II will allow them to be married. Alexei reveals to her a magical secret: before Rasputin was murdered, he poured all of his power into a Faberge creation known as the Constellation Egg. The power of this egg miraculously protects the Romanov family, including healing Alexei from his hemophilia. But the egg is unable to protect the royal family from revolution: the year is 1917, and a civil war is on the horizon. Alexei and his family are taken by the Reds. In an attempt to reclaim power for Russia, Natalya and her highborn friend Emilia try to retrieve the egg, but they are deceived and captured. What ensues is a desperate search for the egg in order to claim the power for either the White or Red faction-but there is a dangerous third group at play that cares nothing for politics and everything for power. The characters in this novel don't quite live up to the clearly well-researched historical detail: they're flat and under-nuanced. The two romances in this book are presented as deriving from Natalya's genuine affection for both Alexei and a young revolutionary named Leo, but neither are well developed enough to address the complicated feelings that would likely arise when one begins to have feelings for the enemy of one's true love. The story is fascinating, however, and the details of the Russian Revolution that are included might inspire students to research Russian history and such characters as Alexei Romanov and Grigori Rasputin.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Grades 6-9 Natalya relishes the privileged swirl of life at the Russian imperial court, especially her status as the intended wife of the tsar's son, Alexei. When Alexei shows her the priceless jeweled egg the royal family harbors, she learns of the magical sway this so-called Constellation Egg has in keeping the ruling Romanovs in power. Part fantasy, part historic fiction, the story shifts from palace life to the revolution, as characters fight to save the egg to protect the Romanovs. Can the girl dreaming of becoming tsarina collaborate successfully with a former servant turned Red to rescue the egg from mystics who have taken it to turn the tide of history? Patrick's tale of Russia, Rasputin, and Romanovs packs in suspense, harrowing escapes, and romance. Without heavy-handedness, Natalya's spirited narration affords readers a sense of what led to revolution as well as the catastrophic impact of war. While liberties are taken with the historic setting, the mystics add an intriguing layer of storytelling, as does the egg's supernatural powers at strategic moments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
During the Russian Revolution, seventeen-year-old Lady Natalya Kutepova, the beloved of Tsarevich Alexei Romanov, strives to protect her intended's special Fabergi egg, imbued by Rasputin with magical powers to save the royal family. Commoner Leo first kidnaps Natalya, then tries to help. Although plot improbabilities abound and some details are sloppy, the drama and excitement of the revolution carries the story.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)