Stravaganza City of Masks (Hardcover)

by Mary Hoffman (Author) "Light streamed on to the Duchessa's satin bedcovers as her serving-woman flung open the shutters..." (more)
Key Phrases: william dethridge, marriage with the sea, forbidden day, Doctor Dethridge, Great Canal, Scuola Mandoliera (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
From the British author of the Amazing Grace books comes a novel, the first in a trilogy, about a teen stricken with brain cancer who travels between two worlds. In modern-day London, Lucien Mulholland undergoes chemotherapy treatments, but when he falls asleep clutching a mysterious book his father has given him, he is transported, or "stravagated," to an enchanting 16th-century Venice-like city called Bellezza, in the country Talia. Lucien can return only if he can get hold of the book again. In this colorful other world, rich with court intrigues and magic, he feels vibrantly alive, as opposed to his pain-ridden days back in England; his hair has grown back and he eats with relish. Bellezza is also where, as "Luciano," he meets lovely 15-year-old Arianna and Rodolfo, who created the book that acts as Lucien's "stravagation" talisman. Rodolfo explains that a stravagante is "a wanderer between worlds," and also the history of this magical travel. Now the secret brotherhood dedicated to keeping the two worlds separate is being challenged by a faction with evil intent. Soon "Luciano" is caught up in their power struggle and learns there is a cost when one cannot stravagate properly. The Renaissance backdrop sets an elegant mood for the time-travel toggling. This complex, at times slow-moving and somber story line may disturb some middle-graders, but the novel will likely intrigue more sophisticated readers, especially with its undercurrents of sexual tension. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Arianna wants to be a mandolier, but in 16th-century Bellezza, the city on the water in Talia ruled by the Duchessa, the training is open only to boys. Meanwhile, in 21st-century England, Lucien is coping with the aftereffects of chemotherapy. Holding onto a notebook rescued from the trash brings him strange dreams of a Venetian-like city, and soon he is in Arianna's world. She is outraged when he is chosen to enter the Scuola Mandoliera, and he plunges feet first into life in Bellezza, where he can escape his sick body. With the notebook, Lucien/Luciano "stravagates" between his home and the past, and is soon burning the candle at both ends. He soon becomes fast friends with Arianna and apprentice to Rodolfo, a favorite of the Duchessa whom Luciano rescues from an assassination attempt. Hoffman has created a dazzling world; vibrant characters; and a wondrous story of politics, intrigue, and youthful romance. Though some of the plot twists are hardly surprising, getting through them is rewarding. The author's gift for detail brings life to cathedrals, lagoons, and lace, and some of her parallels to Venice are clever, such as a Bridge of Sorrow instead of the Bridge of Sighs. As the book draws to a close, Lucien dies in England, but continues to live in the past. Readers of this fascinating novel will be thrilled to learn that it is the first in a trilogy.
Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (September 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582347913
• ISBN-13: 978-1582347912
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #563,675 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, magical stravaganza for all ages, November 30, 2002

By	"greengoldfairy" (London, England (but only until August 18th!)) - See all my reviews

STRAVAGANZA: CITY OF MASKS, by Mary Hoffman, is a the first book in a brand new fantasy series which has all the signs of someday being a favorite. Through Hoffman's writing the characters and setting come wonderfully to life, and the result is a story that readers will want to revisit many times over, simply to drink in the magic.

The story is spun around the character of Lucien Mulholland, a boy living in modern-day London of our world, where he is bedridden from being treated for brain cancer. When the chemotherapy makes his throat so sore that he cannot speak properly, Lucien's father brings him home a blank book with a beautifully marbled cover so that Lucien can write whatever he needs to say. However, when Lucien falls asleep with the book in the pocket of his pajamas, he wakes up to find himself in another world entirely. What's more, in this world it is as though he has never had cancer in his life.

In Bellezza, a Venice-like city state in the country of Talia, Lucien finds himself swept up in the political undercurrent of the city, who's people and mysterious Duchessa are working with all their might to keep free from the clutches of the Chimici family. Lucien is taken in by the "scientist" Rodolfo, who explains thta the book was a talisman made to help people like Lucien travel, or "stravagate" between the two worlds. Lucien's companion and guide in Belezza is the beautiful 15-year-old girl named Arianna, who will wind up playing a bigger role in the city's fate than one would imagine.

I myself had never even heard of this book up until my attention was caught by its flashy cover as it sat on one of the shelves at the local bookstore. Now, however, I look forward eagerly to the publication of book two so that I can revisit the world of Talia and stravagation, a world that has not yet left me after my first reading about it. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, for I think that this is one of the better books that has been published recently.

Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stravaganza: City of Masks is awesome!, December 17, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stravaganza City Of Masks (Paperback)

Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman is the first of three books in a wonderful fantasy series.

Lucien is sick with cancer; he cannot go to school or even get out of his bed, but when he receives an Italian journal from his father, his whole life changes. If Lucien holds the journal while he sleeps, his mind is taken to the city of Bellezza. When he is there, he is completely well, and the more he visits Bellezza the more real it seems. Lucien then finds out that he is able to travel between two worlds; he is a Stravaganza. The problem is, the more he travels to this extraordinary city, the more he seems to vanish from his own world and his family. Will Lucien continue to travel between the two worlds or will he be stuck in a world that he barely knows forever?

I loved this book and can't wait to read the next in the series. Once you start reading, Stravaganza: City of Masks draws you in and you just can't wait to see what happens. You can fall in love with all of the characters and you really start to care about them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to escape into another world; people of all ages can enjoy a book like this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars City of Masks, April 3, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stravaganza City Of Masks (Paperback)

How would you like it if you could travel to a different world? In the book City of Masks a young boy named Lucien does. Lucien lives in London, England and is very sick with cancer. One day when his father brings him home a diary, he learns that he can travel to a different world. This other world is still in the sixteenth century, and is now known as Venice, Italy. The citizens there called it Belezza. Lucien is very confused when he first gets there, but soon he realizes that he isn't sick in Belezza. He meets a man named Rodolfo, and learns that he is a "Stravaganti" (which means that he can travel from Belezza to England). After many attacks in Belezza, he learns that being a Stravaganti isn't as fun as he thought it would be. I didn't like this book very much, but just because I don't like it, that doesn't mean you won't.
This book was written for people ten and up. It switched around from one part to another, and younger children would have a harder time understanding it. "He began to dream of a city floating on the water, laced with canals, and full of domes and spires..." (in England) "Adrianna watched the whole procession from her brother's boat." (In Belezza)
The book included many characters. Some examples would be Lucien, Adrianna, and Rodolfo. There where many times were you would have to closely pay attention in order to understand who was speaking.
The book was written in second person, and was easier to understand that way. "Much to her surprise, Adrianna was bored."
Although I didn't like this book very much, you might like to read it.