Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dynamite heroine in romantic dystopian-future swashbuckler.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Paying tribute to the historical-fiction classic The Scarlet Pimpernel, ROOK's story takes place in a dystopian future where the Earth's axis has shifted, rendering technology useless. Centuries after this collapse, in the Sunken City built on the ruins of Paris, a villainous politician is using a reign of terror to eliminate his opponents and seize their property. As more and more of his victims go to the guillotine, a mysterious hero known as the Red Rook spirits others to safety, leaving a red-tipped feather behind to taunt their would-be killer. In between missions, the Rook, aka 18-year-old Sophia Bellamy, has other problems, especially the Parisian fop she's being forced to marry to save her family from financial ruin.
Is It Any Good?
Author Sharon Cameron delivers an irresistible homage to the old-school swashbuckling romance in this tale that pits a resourceful 18-year-old girl against a wily, sociopathic villain. The real horrors of the French Revolution return here in a dystopian future, with the supersize guillotine known as the Razor looming over everything.
Readers tired of heroines who spend many pages in angst and internal hand-wringing will delight in determined, clever Sophie as she faces death, treachery, and marriage to the fashionable René, and they'll crack up at his odd outbursts, such as "My love! They play McCartney!"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about history's many atrocities -- and the heroes, real and fictional, who rise up to save those in danger. Are there any you find especially interesting or relatable?
Have you read other stories about the French Revolution? How does Rook's story of parallel events compare?
Over the course of history, many movements that started out with noble sentiments and high ideals soon turned into horrific bloodbaths. Why do you think this happens? What different examples of this do you see in Rook and in the world around you?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Press
- Publication date : April 28, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 464
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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