Title: Finding Emilie

Author: Laurel Corona

Rating <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Summary: Lili du Châtelet yearns to know more about her mother, the brilliant French mathematician Emilie. But the shrouded details of Emilie’s unconventional life—and her sudden death—are elusive. Caught between the confines of a convent upbringing and the intrigues of the Versailles court, Lili blossoms under the care of a Parisian salonnière as she absorbs the excitement of the Enlightenment, even as the scandalous shadow of her mother’s past haunts her and puts her on her own path of self-discovery.


Review: The book finding Emilie, is based on the preface, that Emilie's infant daughter, Lili, lived, and the book goes on to describe what her life might have been like if she had lived in pre-revolutionary war France.  In the introduction of the book it is explained that in reality, Emilie's daughter, and Emilie herself both died at the time of the child's birth and or very soon after but Ms. Corona does a very good job of bringing to life what Emilie's daughter might have been like if she had lived.


The book Finding Emilie rotates in chapter's from Lili's early life, to her young adult years to short scene's of her Mother's life.  In Lili's chapter's you experience her growing up with Delphine, who is the daughter of one of her Mother's close friends.  Lili's thinks of Delphine's Mother as her Maman, (Mother figure); Lili also must deal with Baron Lamont, who is a stricter figure in her life who tries to stifle Lili's creative and intelligent side because it is not thought to be appropriate in French society during this time period, however the Baron is not successful in "quieting" Lili in the long term.  


Emilie's chapters are much shorter, and while they are enjoyable, they did not give me as much as I would have wished to know about her as a character, since the book is titled after her, but the way the book is written is very different and refreshing in my opinion.  Lilli, and Delphine while they are close, both are fun characters, and have distinct personalities, although I think Delphine is more of a one dimensional character.  This was a very fun read, and I would recommend it.