From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up–In this third installment in the series, Sky Meadows, a London teen, finds himself drawn magically to a land called Talia, which resembles Italy of the 1500s. Brought to the city of Giglia by a monk named Brother Sulien, Sky learns that he is one of a secret fellowship of Stravaganti, people who can travel between certain times, places, and dimensions. Sky, along with several other London Stravaganti teenagers, quickly becomes enmeshed in Giglian intrigue; when the ruthless Duke Niccolò di Chimici decides not only to marry off all his sons in a grand ceremony, but also to ask for the unwilling Duchessa Arianna Rossi's hand in marriage, a feud erupts, and the Stravaganti have their hands full trying to halt the bloodshed. Readers who are new to the series will have a hard time keeping the bewilderingly large cast of characters straight and will have many questions about issues that fans of the series already understand or take for granted–why does Arianna always wear a mask? How are the Stravaganti "chosen?" Sky, son of a white single mom and an absent black rock star, is an engaging character with worries of his own, and the world of Talia is presented in vivid sensory detail that immediately sweeps readers into the story. Arianna is not a particularly compelling character in this installment, but the swirling intrigue, romance, and deadly feuding will keep fans happy. A must if you already have the first two books in your collection.
–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. This sequel to
Stravaganza: City of Masks (2002) and
Stravaganza: City of Stars (2003) introduces Sky, a 17-year-old-old biracial boy who takes care of his ailing mother. Like the young people in the previous books, Sky finds a talisman and travels from modern London to sixteenth-century Talia, an alternate-history Italy. Sky befriends a monk and soon finds himself in the midst of political intrigue and mortal danger. With many characters from the earlier books converging for a quadruple marriage ceremony involving members of the ruling di Chimici (Medici) family, the cast becomes so large that a helpful three-page list of "Dramatis Personae" is appended, along with a detailed note on the Medici/di Chimici connection. Although Hoffman writes well, keeping the many strands of story tightly woven and managing the shifts of time and place with ease, the explanatory references slow the story's movement, especially in the beginning. Still, Sky emerges as an engaging character, and the series' many fans will welcome this opportunity to revisit Talia through his involving story.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.