Sovay

By Celia Rees

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and its impact on British politics, this action-driven novel shows once again that Celia Rees is one of our very best writers for teenage readers.

Wild and beautiful, spoilt and wilful, Sovay finds that her cosseted upbringing in rural England has not prepared her for life as a highway robber, for defending the honour of her family or for trying to save herself from corruption and evil.

As Sovay becomes more and more embroiled in adventures she could never have imagined, a story of dark intrigue, thwarted passions and sinister intentions is revealed to her. Will she be able to survive, and if she does so, at what cost?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Dec 7, 2009
• ISBN: 9781408808962

Celia Rees

Celia Rees is an award-winning YA novelist who is one of Britain's foremost writers for teenagers.  Her novel Witch Child has been published in 28 languages and is required reading in secondary schools in the UK.  Rees’s books are published in the US by Candlewick and Scholastic. Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook is her first adult novel. A native of the West Midlands of England, she lives with her family in Leamington Spa. 

Reviews for Sovay

[virtual_jo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like Celia Rees's other heroines, Sovay is a feisty young woman determined to be her own person. A rollicking adventure story!

[themadhatters_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sovay is a bit of a spoiled young aristocrat, unused to obeying rules or following social conventions. When her fiance cheats on her with a chambermaid, Sovay decides to masquerade as a highwayman and test his love for her. When he fails her test, it marks the beginning of a chain of events that leads to the possible destruction of her family. Set during the French Revolution, Sovay becomes embroiled in politics, adventure, and romance. My main complaint is that it felt like the author was trying to squash too much into one novel. Characters kept getting introduced but were not really developed.

[paperloverevolution · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very disappointing, considering how good Rees usually is. Flat characters, lots of weirdly loose plot lines, haphazard action, and an implausible villain made this a painful slog.

[mcollier_41 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the book, but it was hard to keep up with. There were many minor characters and I had trouble imaging some of them in my head because they all were described the same! Dark hair with blue eyes! Ha.

[ashooles · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not the most exciting book I ever read. I got really confused in some parts and had trouble keeping up with who the characters were. Also didn't like the ending very much either.

[joririchardson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At first, this book started out excellently. Interesting, good characters, and what looked like a good plot. However, the book grows progressively worse as it goes. The plot the author had in mind at the beginning falls apart, and she does nothing to salvage it. Rees also has an annoying habit of introducing possible romances in the main character's path, and then lets them come to nothing. Sovay conveniently ends up meeting a brand new character and falling for him a few chapters before the book is over, as if Rees realized that she'd gotten to the end of her book with no dashing young man at the heroine's side. This book is sloppily put together, just a long string of events that aren't actually boring, they are just unrelated and pointless.It's a shame, because Celia Rees is such a talented author, and can do far better. If you want to read a good book, read one of her earlier books, "Pirates!"This one is just a waste of your time.

[iceybooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but "Sovay", by Celia Rees, caught my attention from the very first page. Sovay is a young woman of dark beauty living in England during the French Revolution. She lost her mother at a very young age, and when her brother and father go missing, she learns she can't trust anyone - not even the one she was betrothed to. In the beginning of the book, Sovay dresses up in her brother's clothes, wraps a handkerchief around her face, and rides to the highway, where she robs a stage coach for revenge and to break her boredom. When Sovay receives news of her father's arrest for treason, she is persuaded by close friends, and soon gets tangled into the political mess of her day. What starts out innocently enough, soon escalates into something more dire when she robs important documents to save her father from the guillotine and learns secrets that put her under the watchful eye of the influential Sir Robert Dysart. She soon finds out that Dysart's influence extends deep into France, where her father is sick, and where Sovay and her brother are hiding because they can’t return to England. Nearly standing before the guillotine herself, Sovay tries to save her father, brother, and the meaning of freedom. Rees winds a very suspenseful tale with Sovay's journey. It is sometimes hard to follow and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. But once you get to know them all, be ready for a lot of twists and turns in this unpredictable must-read!

[ctmsjisc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What would you do if your family was in trouble but because of who you were, and you couldn't help them? Sovay is a young girl living during the time of the French Revolution. Her family is very involved in the politics of England and France. Being involved in the politics leads to Sovay's brother and father to have gone missing. With no mother this leaves Sovay in charge of the house and in charge of finding her missing brother and father, but Sovay is a girl. Sovay needs to figure out a way to find out what happened to her brother and father. She dresses up as a highway man and goes out to find clues on what happened to her family. After one innocent act of a highway man she keeps repeating the crime. Sovay winds up making enemies with a very influential man in England. Sovay finds her brother and they find out where their father is. They can't go home because Sovay's enemy is waiting for them. Sovay has to put everything on the line to save her father, even love. I give Sovay by Celia Rees three stars. The book was thrilling and adventurous, but it was also stretched out and confusing. The beginning of the story was confusing. There were so many different people that it was hard to follow who was who. The beginning didn't give a clear explanation of who people were. Once I hit the climax I started to understand the people a little bit better, but not completely. The characters that I could follow were very realistic and portrayed very well. The story plot was hard to follow. I think the beginning was dragged out too long. I think there was too much side story and description. If you cut out have of the description it still would be just a little too much. All the description made parts of the book very boring to read. Once I hit the climax the story became easier to follow and more interesting. Sovay fell in love during the book. I love books with romance in them, but this romance again was hard to follow. I didn't really understand who it was that Sovay liked until the end of the novel. I think the author could have been a little clearer on Sovay's feelings regarding love. The story was thrilling! I loved the idea of it, sneaking around and leading double lives. I also like how it was historical fiction. I think the author did a good job describing the historical parts, but could have been a little clearer on them. Over all Sovay by Celia Rees was a good book with it's few downfalls. It was like a good looking and smelling pizza with a burnt bottom.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked three French Revolution novels from the library catalogue, two YA and one historical fiction, and I have to say that Celia Rees' fast-paced and well researched story, about a daring young woman who follows her father to revolutionary Paris, beats the 'adult' novel into a cocked hat. If there is one way to lure teens into reading about history, Celia Rees knows the answer - dress up the dry dates and boring social customs in adventure and only give young readers time to think after finishing the story!Sovay Middleton is a brave and forthright young heroine, both sympathetic and inspiring. I must admit to being a little apprehensive of the initial premise - Sovay turns highway robber in a bid to test her lover's affections - but Rees meets the challenge with humour and high spirits. Based on a traditional ballad - 'Sovay, Sovay, all on a day/She dressed herself in man's array' - Rees' Sovay does find out if her spineless fiance is 'a man or no', but that, fortunately, is only the beginning of the story. What opens as a girls' own adventure quickly develops into a gripping tale of spies, revolution and betrayal, with gothic castles, hot air balloons and a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. Sovay uses her masculine alter ego to set right a few personal grievances, but also to access places normally denied to young women in late eighteenth century London, like the seedier underworld of the city. The appropriately revolutionary themes of liberty and equality are weaved throughout the narrative with subtle skill by the author, who uses Sovay's frustration to highlight the double standards of the times, but never at the cost of the heroine. Nor did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with the feminist manifesto, which so often occurs when writing about women in historical novels - but as Celia Rees writes in her notes, 'It is a common assumption that, to have the ring of authenticity, an eighteenth century heroine has to a passive, stay at home kind of girl, but these were turbulent times'. To tread that thin line between realism and revision is no mean feat, and I admire the author for getting the blend just right - Sovay knows her place, and various male relatives and associates insist on trying to 'protect' her throughout, but circumstances ultimately force her to act outside of gender, class and society, though never out of character. What really made Sovay such an enjoyable read for me, and a vast improvement on the other French Revolution novel I tackled this week, was how lively and engrossing the story was. I believed in Sovay and the other characters, and even the scenery came to life for me, thanks to Celia Rees' vivid descriptions of London and Paris. The Revolution is also recounted fairly, with hope for the future, but despairing of the many atrocities committed in the name of freedom: 'What is happening now is an anomaly. It is a diversion, not part of that great movement of change. It has to stop. In the name of the Revolution. All this killing has to stop.'Definitely recommended, to readers of all ages! Teens will love the action and intrepid young heroine, older readers will enjoy the fantastic plot, which is melodramatic and improbable, but good fun! Sovay's highwayman disguise put me in mind of the old Gainsborough film The Wicked Lady, with Margaret Lockwood and James Mason, while Dysart the cackling villain reminded me of Orczy's Chauvelin.

[callmecayce · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I picked this audio book up because I desperately needed something to listen to on a long drive and it had the words French and England in the description. What I didn't realize is that Sovay would be a much darker book that would make me cry several times. I initially found it hard to get into, but I grew used to the reader and completely fell in love with the characters. I don't know if I'll look for any more of Rees' books, but this was such a good book that I might. I don't know much about the French Revolution nor about England's involvement, so I can't say how historically accurate it was, but for my purposes, it kept me completely hooked the whole way through.

[smammers · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was hoping I would like this better than I liked Witch Girl, but so far, I don't. Sovay is your typical spunky, kicky, breaking-the-mold heroine, but she's so formulaic that she's unbelievable. I found myself not caring that Sovay's fiance didn't actually love her, or that her father (the free-thinking intellectual, of course) is in danger of being arrested, or even that these very things drive Sovay to disguise herself as a highwayman, robbing travelers. This might be enjoyable for younger readers, but I didn't feel it was believable -- everything seemed very predictable and cliche. I'm disappointed because it seemed like a really exciting premise and I really wanted to like the book, but I felt the same way when I read Witch Girl, and was unable to connect with either story.

[btodosan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sovay becomes a highway man first for love, then to protect her father. Gets caught up in intrigue and then the French Revolution. A little bit too much detail for me at times. Nothing explicit, but there are refrences and illusions to not only prostitution but fettishes as well.

[teenbookreviews · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This tale is set at the close of the 19th century where France is deep in revolutionary throes and England fears a similar revolt. Sovay, headstrong daughter of a noble house, stumbles upon a secret that could plunge England into a revolution every bit as bloody as the one in France. Who can she trust when the secret involves some of the most powerful men in England? Rees has written a superb novel filled with historically accurate details that build a world the reader can submerse herself (or himself) in. From country estates to the stews of London, it is clear that Rees is familiar with her subject. The plot is fast paced and filled with interesting and unexpected twists and developments. Recommended to any reader interested in historical fiction, particularly those interested in the period of the French Revolution.

[knielsen83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great historical young adult novel about Sovay, a woman who robbed for love and fought for her life. I completely devoured this book in two days time and loved the constant action and romantic interests.

[gayldashersmith · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sorry, but I couldn't buy it. The heroine appeared so weak at the beginning and I couldn't understand her motivation to maintain her career as a highwayman. The ending totally ignored her father, whom she was supposed to cherish.