Description:

21st century girl. 18th century ghost. Heads will roll! The city of light just got a little darker. . . . 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 in danger. . . . Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this tale of revenge, betrayal, intrigue -- and one killer queen. ** ### From School Library Journal Gr 7-10-All Colette Iselin wants is to be accepted by perfect, icy Hannah and her slightly sweeter sidekick, Pilar. This means pretending that her family still has money and being mean to her brother, her mother, her unpopular classmates, her teacher, and pretty much anyone else who crosses her path. However, on a class trip to France, Colette gets distracted from her quest to be cool. First, she starts seeing Marie Antoinette's ghost (which would distract most people) and begins to fall for her nerdy-cute French tour guide. Colette realizes that the ghost is killing people and that she is next on the list, due to her family's heretofore secret role in the French Revolution. None of this is very believable, and even the realistic elements don't always ring true, as Colette and her classmates rarely step out of their stereotypes. The plot strands come together, complete with an Eiffel Tower kiss and a party held at Versailles. That said, the story moves along at a steady clip and every so often devolves into delicious, campy mayhem. This is a good choice for teens who want to dip their toes into historical fiction (emphasis on the fiction) without giving up cinematic pacing or romance. Colette transforms through the course of the novel, realizing the value of loyalty over prestige, and though that process might not be believable, many readers will find her story enjoyable.-Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. ### Review Praise for Katie Alender: "In the classic tradition of Stephen King, Alender will have you sleeping with the lights on." -- Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia, NYT Bestselling authors of the Beautiful Creatures series Praise for *Marie Antoinette, Seriel Killer *: "A story that mixes slice-of-life teen drama with supernatural menace, infused with the sights, sounds, and tastes of a Paris that comes to life in the process." -- *Publishers Weekly* "All the flavor of a macaron, bound by a ganache of sweet, supernatural grit." -- *Kirkus Reviews*