Teen Book: A Glimpse at... Gilt by Katherine Longshore

Today we take a look at Gilt by Katherine Longshore, in which Kitty and her best friend Cat, both servants to a duchess in 16th century England, find their lives dramatically changed when Cat becomes queen to King Henry VIII... and Kitty becomes her servant.

This was obviously the place to be and be seen. And it was crowded, therefore also a good place to hide. Women clustered together like peacocks at a spill of grain. They were dressed in bodices of rich damask, with matching overskirts and complimentary colors in their kirtles. Their sleeves were puffed and slashed to reveal vivid silks beneath, looking a bit like bread ballooning from the heat of the oven. Gowns of velvet trimmed with gold braid. Hoods decked in pearls. And all sorts of dazzling adornments- chokers and collars and pendants of gold, brooches the size of my hand, studded with gems, rings like jewled knuckles. I risked a glance at my own clothes. My Wednesday green dress was smudged with mud from the road. The tear in the skirt was coming open, like a secret dying to be let out. My face was likely splotchy, my eyes probably wild, my hands trembling. I looked behind me, afraid of being followed.

- Kitty, Gilt, pgs 126-127