Well, I’m a giant Les Mis fan, I saw the musical for the first time when I was a small child and I’ve seen every iteration and read the original book, and every single time I would be so frustrated with the Marius, Eponine and Cosette love triangle. In the book, Eponine and Cosette grow up together with a very abusive criminal man, and then one of them is, for all intents and purposes, sold to a stranger. Years later when they meet again, the only thing one of them says to the other is, “oh I was a young girl with her once”. And I just thought that is just not how females are! You would love each other, you would hate each other but you would definitely have a reaction to one another that was not solely based on this guy that you had both fallen in love with.

The graveyard where the Court is located does exist in the 20th arrondissement (administrative district) of Paris, known as Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. Coincidentally, the protagonist of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, Jean Valjean, was given an honorary grave at Père-Lachaise. I mean the nobles [in The Court Of Miracles] were always monstrous in a way but they have become 100 times worse because they saw what the people of France were about to do to them. Which historically, the people of France, the revolutionaries, led the terror – they murdered everyone right left and centre! Then of course the revolutionaries famously turned on their own. Aprendan de mis errores y no se dejen seducir por portadas bonitas en los libros, de verdad, porque vaya decepción me he llevado con este libro. faberge eggs are mentioned, despite them being made for the russian royal family, and despite faberge not being alive at this point in time.

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The wealthy residents of Paris did not wish to be reminded of the pervasive poverty and decay in the city. Begging was deeply frowned upon by all ranks of society, but especially hated by the uppermost echelon. Many of the wealthiest residents of France fled to burgeoning suburbs on the far bank of the Seine to avoid having to see the residents of the Court.

there were a couple of historical inaccuracies that did drive me a little bit up the wall, though. nothing too serious, and only throwaway lines really but still: Del romance… es que ni siquiera voy a hablar del romance. Madre mía, vaya lío tan mal llevado. Nina tiene TRES intereses amorosos, TRES. Y, oye, no digo que esté mal, pero lo que pido es que al menos los personajes se distingan, que sepamos por qué están atraídos por Nina, cuáles son sus posibilidades, sus sentimientos, etc. Pero, de nuevo, nada. Sólo están allí quizá para cumplir con la cuota y poder decir que hay “algo” de amor en el libro. Pero no se engañen. Cour des Miracles was the French word, meaning Court of Miracles, for the network of slums throughout Paris. The best known of the slums laid between the rue (street) de Caire and the rue Réamur and was called the Grand Court of Miracles, or simply Grand Court. However, thanks to the careful documentation of the slums by French historian Henri Sauval, we now know that far more than the Grand Court existed and, in reality, the Court of Miracles was an extensive network of slums that ran through Paris in its entirety. That aside, Nina came to me fully formed. As I said, I saw her hanging off the side of a building. Her character, everything about her, was already there. I never had to think about how would Nina react to this or try and figure out her voice. That happens to me with all my main characters. I have another book coming out next year, it’s basically like The Jungle Book but on speed. It’s about two monkeys and the main character is the same – she just ‘was’.Final point (I think): this book had a tendency to randomly introduce characters and plot points that had not been mentioned before but are clearly important if they’re being brought up again. Case in point: Cosette. The whole first part of the book is about Eponine and Azelma, which makes sense because it provides the whole motivation behind Eponine’s plans later. No mention of a third child at this point. And then part two skips straight to where Eponine’s plan to trade Cosette for Azelma starts. As in, the point it becomes successful. Never having mentioned Cosette before now, never setting up the plan, nothing. It’s a six year time skip and, in doing that, all of the necessary information here has just been dumped. I don't know what I expected going into this, but it wasn't this. While the synopsis referenced la Revolution Française being unsuccessful, I still thought that it'd be a Les Misérables retelling from how it was pitched. That's not really what this was. Rather, it was an alternate historical book with multiple inaccuracies. I didn't find it particularly compelling either way, nor did it bring something revolutionary or original to the YA genre. The Slums of Paris Had Their Own Intricate Systems of Laws Ruled By Thieves and Prostitutes” Cleo Egnal, Ranker. n.d. My favourite part of this book was The Court of Miracles itself, a criminal underworld thriving in 19th Century Paris amidst the June Rebellion. I found the political structure of the Court fascinating and enjoyed the exploration of the individual guilds we saw throughout the course of this novel, my favourite of course, being the assassin's guild. Disney Characters introduced in Kingdom Hearts Union χ: Sultan • Samson • Vanellope von Schweetz • Fix-It Felix Jr. • Sergeant Calhoun • King Candy • Sour Bill • Cy-Bugs • Hero's Duty Troops