Political intrigue unfolds against the glittering backdrop of an alternative Venice, in the first of a promised trilogy. Fifteen-year-old Lucien copes with chemotherapy in present-day London, but when he falls asleep clutching an exotic journal, he wakes up in Bellezza, the Venice-analog of a parallel Renaissance Italy. This rare gift of “stravagation”—using a talisman to travel between worlds—brings Lucien the protection of a powerful nobleman and friendship with the headstrong young Arianna; but also entangles him in the maneuverings of Bellezza’s glamorous Duchessa against the wily Chemici (read: Medici) clan. Meanwhile, as his visits to Bellezza become more enthralling, Lucien’s body in his home world is slowly dying. Hoffman’s (The Color of Home, p. 1225, etc.) fast-paced plot tightly integrates the fantastic with the historical and frequent cuts between viewpoints ratchet up the suspense. Unfortunately, Lucien and Arianna are not particularly compelling characters, and are too often merely pawns in the intricate factional machinations. The story is dominated by the overwhelming personality of the Duchessa, but even her most devoted adherents admit that she is a “ruthless, selfish, stubborn, bossy woman”; many teens will lack the historical background to appreciate her motives. While Hoffman clearly adores the setting, Bellezza is too sketchily realized for the reader to care passionately about its political fate. The tidy resolution seems to leave little room for sequels; still, some intriguing minor characters and glimpses of other cities hint at a richer world than so far revealed. (Fantasy. 11+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58234-791-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner.
A young woman pursues a dangerous quest in late-1800s Egypt in this sequel to What the River Knows (2023).
After Inez Olivera was nearly murdered while assisting with her uncle’s archaeological expedition in Egypt, Tío Ricardo is eager to ship her home to safety in Argentina. But Inez burns with the need to stay and make sure that those who committed crimes against her family are held responsible. Unfortunately, the law precludes Inez, as a young unmarried woman, from accessing her inheritance (needed to fund her quest for justice) without her guardian uncle’s permission. Whitford Hayes, a former British soldier and her tío’s aide-de-camp, proposes marriage, which could solve her problems. But can Inez trust the secretive Whit? More danger and intrigue lurk at every turn in this exciting duology closer, which fully addresses the first entry’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The well-paced plot encompasses many fresh, new adventures and betrayals in this reimagined historical setting in which ancient magic abounds and not everyone or everything is what it seems. Even more captivating, however, is the complicated, nuanced love story between Whit and Inez. Their chemistry sizzles, but their relationship is achingly layered with both profound loyalty and deep deception. As their journey unearths new enemies and priceless archaeological finds, the duo must try to trust each other enough to survive.
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner. (cast of characters, map, timeline) (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250822994
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly...
In a radical departure from her realistic fiction and comic chronicles of Anastasia, Lowry creates a chilling, tightly controlled future society where all controversy, pain, and choice have been expunged, each childhood year has its privileges and responsibilities, and family members are selected for compatibility.
As Jonas approaches the "Ceremony of Twelve," he wonders what his adult "Assignment" will be. Father, a "Nurturer," cares for "newchildren"; Mother works in the "Department of Justice"; but Jonas's admitted talents suggest no particular calling. In the event, he is named "Receiver," to replace an Elder with a unique function: holding the community's memories—painful, troubling, or prone to lead (like love) to disorder; the Elder ("The Giver") now begins to transfer these memories to Jonas. The process is deeply disturbing; for the first time, Jonas learns about ordinary things like color, the sun, snow, and mountains, as well as love, war, and death: the ceremony known as "release" is revealed to be murder. Horrified, Jonas plots escape to "Elsewhere," a step he believes will return the memories to all the people, but his timing is upset by a decision to release a newchild he has come to love. Ill-equipped, Jonas sets out with the baby on a desperate journey whose enigmatic conclusion resonates with allegory: Jonas may be a Christ figure, but the contrasts here with Christian symbols are also intriguing.
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 978-0-395-64566-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
