Few periods in history were as full of scandal, intrigue, and deceit as the rule of England’s King Henry VIII. Known for his six wives, several of whom met untimely ends, Henry’s court was a cutthroat world of gossip and wealth, a complex game of social hierarchies rife with jealousy and backstabbing. Players armed themselves with rumors, secrets and lies, and friends switched loyalties and betrayed one another simply to win favor with those in power.

Sounds a lot like high school, doesn’t it? Minus the beheadings, of course.

In fact Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, is thought to have been only a teenager when she became queen. Katherine Longshore’s hopelessly addictive debut novel, GILT, brings Catherine’s brief reign vividly to life.

At GILT’s heart lies not the relationship between Cat and the king, nor the liaisons with other men that proved her undoing; but her friendship with one Kitty Tylney, her childhood confidant who follows her to court.  Catherine is the ultimate mean girl, and Kitty, who has no family or connections, her loyal sidekick. Teens who have navigated the turbulent waters of high school cliques will find Kitty a sympathetic narrator and understand her conflicted emotions about her supposed best friend, who rules their flock of girls with an iron fist even before she is queen. Kitty watches as Cat climbs to the very highest position in the kingdom, knowing that if and when Cat falls, she’ll pull Kitty down with her. And in Henry VIII’s Tudor Court, losing popularity can mean your very head.

“I find history riveting,” says Ms. Longshore, and GILT’s readers will be hard-pressed to disagree. In a market saturated with dystopias, GILT is a reminder that history is also full of drama, heady romance, and rigid social rules that demand to be broken. With lush descriptions of jewels and fashions, a page-turning plot, and a cast of dangerously handsome noblemen, GILT is certain to hook not only teens, but adult readers as well.

Gilt (Hardcover)

By Katherine Longshore

$17.99

ISBN-13: 9780670013999
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Viking Juvenile, 5/2012

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