Daughters of a Dead Empire

by Carolyn Tara O'Neil

Overview

"This fresh, thrilling take on Anastasia establishes that O'Neil is a debut author to watch." —Buzzfeed

From debut author Carolyn Tara O'Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution.

Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war—the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible—not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna's offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.

Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now—regardless of her loyalties—Evgenia is too.

Daughters of a Dead Empire is a harrowing historical thriller about dangerous ideals, inequality, and the price we pay for change. An imaginative retelling of the Anastasia story.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250755544
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	830,438
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Carolyn Tara O’Neil grew up in a tiny New York City apartment filled with thousands of books. Every Friday she went to the public library for even more reading material. She's lived in France, Spain, and Japan, before circling back to New York. Carolyn now lives in a slightly smaller NYC apartment with slightly fewer books, and still goes to the library every week. Daughters of a Dead Empire is her first book.
Carolyn Tara O’Neil grew up in a tiny New York City apartment filled with thousands of books. Every Friday she went to the public library for even more reading material. She's lived in France, Spain, and Japan, before circling back to New York. Carolyn now lives in a slightly smaller NYC apartment with slightly fewer books, and still goes to the library every week. Daughters of a Dead Empire is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

"This fresh, thrilling take on Anastasia establishes that O'Neil is a debut author to watch." —Buzzfeed

*"A riveting reimagining of a historical legend as a pulse-pounding thriller." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[F]ast-paced and compelling. . . . Perfect for readers who enjoy Monica Hesse and ­Elizabeth Wein."—School Library Journal

"[A] well-researched glimpse into the brutality of a nation in civic unrest."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"O'Neil does not gloss over the violence of the revolution as both Evengia and Anna start to question their inherited political beliefs. . . . It all makes for an apt comparison to today's teens in a tense political climate." —Booklist

"Tightly plotted and compulsive, Daughters of a Dead Empire is simultaneously a heart-racing thrill ride across the landscape of revolutionary Russia and a tender, timely reflection on the reconciling power of friendship." —Amanda McCrina, author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen

“O'Neil's thrilling, historically authentic novel is every bit as moving as it is harrowing. A must read for Russophiles and bibliophiles alike.” —Candace Fleming, author of The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner for Young Adult Literature.

"A page-turning tale of loss, redemption and deep friendship, as two young women learn to move past the prejudices they’ve grown up with. A heartfelt book that makes you believe in the power of friendship over conflict." —Shamim Sarif, author of The Athena Protocol and The Shadow Mission

"A poignant and well-researched historical fiction about two incredible young women and the lengths they will go to save themselves and those they love." —June Hur, author of The Forest of Stolen Girls

"Carolyn Tara O’Neil’s Daughters of a Dead Empire highlights the chaos of a muddled war with heartbreaking accuracy. I didn’t want it to end!” —Amber Lough, author of Open Fire

"An amazing adventure in history, politics, and empathy." —J. Albert Mann, author of The Degenerates and Scar

"You might know the history, but do you know the heart that beats beneath? Carolyn Tara O'Neil reinvents revolutionary Russia with a broad brush for atmosphere and a fine pen for detail. Daughters of a Dead Empire spins the tale of two fierce young women facing down history in an emotional reimagining of one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. Start to finish, I was hooked—a remarkable feat for story inspired by well-known facts." —Sherri L. Smith, SCBWI Golden Kite Award Winning author of The Blossom and the Firefly.

From the Publisher

01/01/2022

Gr 10 Up—An Anastasia Romanov reimagining: Russia, 1918. Tsar Nicholas is dead, and there is a civil war between the royalist White Army and the Bolshevik Communists. Anna, a bourgeois girl, escapes a massacre that killed her entire family. Desperate, she offers a diamond to communist peasant girl, Evgenia, in exchange for help. Despite knowing that Anna is bourgeois, Evgenia is desperate for money to help her ill brother. As the Bolsheviks hunt Anna, Evgenia realizes that despite being a Communist, she is also now seen as the enemy. The two young women must work together to stay alive, and there is danger from all sides. O'Neil provides an unflinching look at the brutal realities of the Russian civil war through the complexity of the two main characters. By changing perspectives, the author creates two strong narrative voices in Anna and Evgenia that allows readers to see the strongly rooted beliefs in both sides of the Russian civil war, and how these beliefs were shaken by atrocities committed during it. Even with the changing perspectives, the plot is fast-paced and compelling, although there are a few scenes of graphic violence near the end. An excellent option for fans of historical fiction. VERDICT Perfect for readers who enjoy Monica Hesse and Elizabeth Wein.—Kaetlyn Phillips

School Library Journal

★ 2021-09-01
In 1918 Russia, czarist Anna and communist Evgenia form a tentative alliance to escape a ruthless Bolshevik commander.

Seventeen-year-old Anna is the sole survivor after her family is assassinated in Ekaterinburg. Her only hope of safety is finding her cousin who is stationed with the White Army. She offers 16-year-old peddler Evgenia a diamond in exchange for a ride on her old horse wagon. Evgenia, who’s a communist, agrees to help the bedraggled yet seemingly bourgeois Anna (whose true identity readers familiar with Russian history may divine before it is revealed in the narrative) because she’s desperate to afford a doctor to treat her injured soldier brother. Their journey is dangerous from the start but turns deadly when Evgenia’s branded a traitor and a Bolshevik secret police commander becomes set on killing both girls. Well-researched and accessible, this alternate history immerses readers in the Russian Revolution and the competing, equally bloodthirsty factions hoping to control the country’s destiny. A kind officer from the Czechoslovak Legion introduces a different perspective and the barest hint of romance. But Anna and Evgenia’s hard-earned friendship forms the heart of the tale and reinforces the importance of crossing class, political, and religious lines to find the humanity in all.

A riveting reimagining of a historical legend as a pulse-pounding thriller. (historical note, pronunciation guide, author's note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews