Isabelle begins her diary in the summer of 1792, when she is thirteen. Raised the privileged daughter of an aristocrat in a chateau outside of Paris, Isabelle is frightened and confused by all the changes brought about by the French Revolution. Because she cannot speak freely of her fears, she begins a diary where she can write down all her thoughts and true feelings as everything in her life changes. Because she was born into an aristocratic family, many of the revolutionaries hate Isabelle and her family simply for who they are.

The news from Paris grows worse every day. The royal family are imprisoned and the king is executed. Many of her friends, neighbors, and relatives have fled to the countryside or left France to seek safety in other countries. Isabelle and her own family eventually leave their home, hoping to find refuge in their old chateau in the countryside, but even there they are not safe forever, and are eventually imprisoned. Throughout this difficult time Isabella keeps writing in her diary, hoping that someday the Revolution will be over, she will be free again, and have her diary as a record of all she went through, to show her own children someday in the future.

The Fall of the Blade is enjoyable addition to the My Story series, and I am glad to see the series branching out recently and featuring books set in places other than England. The French Revolution has always been a time in history I found interesting so I really enjoyed reading Isabelle’s story. I do wish the book had been a bit longer and that the ending had been more detailed as I wanted to know what happened to some of the other characters. But overall this was an enjoyable book that I would recommend to readers who enjoyed other My Story books or books from other similar series such as the Dear America or Royal Diaries series. ( )