SOVAY

Sovay is a not-so-proper eighteenth-century English girl. She poses as a highwayman, becomes involved with treasonous activities, and winds up in France, working with spies as part of the revolution, getting involved with a French soldier, and landing herself in a French jail. Bianca Amato takes her time with the complex narrative, and her pacing makes the story drag a bit. Still, the story has a wide cast of characters to enjoy—from British gentry to street urchins, from charming highwaymen to heroic French revolutionaries, from sensuous villains to rough country folk. Amato ends the book by singing a lovely version of the traditional English ballad Sovay's story is based on. G.D. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2009]