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  • Today, "Scarlett & Browne, book 1" by Jonathan Stroud, published on April 14, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard Jeunesse.

Emily Café Powell, contributor to the 20 Minutes

Books reading group

and blogger, recommends

Scarlett & Browne, book 1

by Jonathan Stroud, published on April 14, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard Jeunesse.


His favorite quote:

“You kill, you lie, you steal, you hit a guy to steal his boat.

I can only thank heaven that your limit is swearing, otherwise, I dare not even imagine.

»


Why this book?

  • Because Jonathan Stroud paints an original

    and convincing postapocalyptic universe.

    From the resurgence of religion and punishments worthy of the Inquisition to the invasion of uninhabited lands by creatures that look like zombies, the portrait of our future is very bleak.

    It's the perfect backdrop for Scarlett McCain's misdeeds!

  • Because Scarlett McCain is a fascinating, unapologetic outlaw character

    with enough depth not to fall into cliché.

    Opposite, Albert Browne brings a lot of freshness and naivety: their association works very well, between the gruff and resourceful young girl and the boy amazed by everything, unable to take two steps without tripping.

  • Because the story is distinguished by the English humor that oozes from the pages,

    by the virtuosity of the extremely tasty dialogues imagined by the author and by the joyful cynicism that emanates from Scarlett's lines.

    Sacred style!

  • Because it makes us happy to find Jonathan Stroud, acclaimed author of the

    Bartimaeus Trilogy

    : in twenty years, he has lost none of his sense of style and intrigue!

The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot.

In a post-apocalyptic world, Scarlett McCain travels the world in search of easy money.

After a bank robbery, she saves the young Albert Browne: an endearing ball who will thwart her plans...

Characters.

On one side, Scarlett the badass, daring and violent, agile and murderous, swear words on her lips and powder on her fingers.

On the other, Albert, candid and mysterious, seems to have an unsuspected power of destruction at first sight.

Holy duo!

Places.

Jonathan Stroud imagines a devastated England, populated by cannibals and good people with medieval customs, made up of fortified cities and areas of lawlessness… As for London?

Engulfed under the waves, the city has become a mythical place, where a few grandiose ruins float...

The time.

The story takes place in a distant and unenviable future, where death awaits you every time you go out of the way... We do not recommend.

The author.

Jonathan Stroud is the best-selling author of

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

(teenagers of the 2000s, including myself, remember it well!) and Lockwood

&

Co.

Nearly 400,000 copies of these two series have sold in France.

This book was read with

a certain jubilation in the face of the dialogues that fuse and the black humor that permeates the story! 

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