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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stravaganza series - City of Flowers, 2 Mar 2005
I enjoyed the first two books in the series, and wondered if the third would keep up the quality. It does, and the very appearance whets the appetite - the cover is excellent, with deliciously exquisite marbling and a clever cut out, and the volume feels like a real book. Bloomsbury is so good at that.The book itself does a fine job of blending together the characters and events of the first two books, and manages the complex business of dealing with two complete societies convincingly and with reassuring ease. Well, more than two - if you don't know about the series, it deals with young people of today who manage to time-travel (quite convincingly, for once)and slip in and out of sixteenth century Italian city-states - the city of flowers is Florence, and the other two cities are Venice and Siena. Each city is a state in its own right, with its own traditions and politics, and so there are three quite different societies in sixteenth century Italy, not just one. The books maintain the essential stance of the young people in both centuries, and although we also meet parents and other adults, the focus is firmly on the very real issues that young people then and now have to meet and deal with. There are big themes here - death, grieving and loss, betrayal, very real danger, not all of it predictable; and the characters weave in and out of each others' lives in a very engaging and finally satisfying way. Magic, horses, love, friendship, adventure, humour, even internationally famous rock stars - yes, all of the above, and more. Begin with the first volume - Stravaganze City of Masks - and enjoy reading your way through all of them
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by Mary Hoffman
by Mary Hoffman
by Mary Hoffman
by Mary Hoffman
by Mary Hoffman
