Richie's Picks: STRAVAGANZA: CITY OF MASKS by Mary Hoffman, Bloomsbury,
September 2002

As some of you might suspect, having BudNotBuddy for an AOL screen name
results in my frequently receiving instant messages from kids hoping to
"meet" Christopher Paul Curtis. Some have become familiar online
acquaintances of mine despite my inability to hook them up with Chris or
answer all of their assigned questions about him, and despite my
unwillingness to help them complete their book reports. (Actually, many of
these kids simply want to tell Chris how amazing his book is.)

Such is the way I'd met a pair of my online middle school "buddies" from New
Jersey who were waiting for me today when I returned from a morning in town
(even though I HAVE encouraged them instead to go bug their fellow 'Jersey
resident/AOL member/Famous Author, David Lubar).

Having come home to their awaiting messages demanding to know what I was
reading today and whether it was any good, I had the pleasure of telling them
that I'd just finished STRAVAGANZA: CITY OF MASKS. I informed them that it
is a great story that is full of time travel, deceit, suspense, death, joy,
magic, water, pomp and ceremony, and young love.

"The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there but that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you what more is you lookin' for?" --Sebastian
the Crab

That's what came to mind after reaching the end of STRAVAGANZA--the
fulfillment that enveloped me at the end of Disney's Little Mermaid. Come
on! Tell me you didn't feel totally great after all of Ursula's evil schemes
were thwarted and the two young lovers got it together? STRAVAGANZA is even
better, because you get all that intensity and scary stuff, but you also get
seriously strong female characters who don't intend to put up with any of
that "only boys can do it" nonsense, and who don't go meekly mooning about
playing with their "whozits and whatzits galore." And on top of that, to
provide a truly feel-good happy ending to a book about a boy with a brain
tumor is certainly one masterful feat in itself!

That boy, Lucien Mulholland, a young, 21st century resident of North London,
is having a terrible time enduring chemo when his father turns him on to a
salvaged old notebook with thin pages and a beautiful, marbled cover that
comes from Venice. His father also tells Lucien stories of visiting that
mysterious land of islands and canals in his own youth. But, when Lucien
falls asleep and awakens in a Venice-like setting, it is not the city of his
father's memory but, instead, a 1577 parallel version called Bellezza which
is ruled by The Duchessa. Lucien's first contact in this new land is
Arienna, a feisty girl his own age who has snuck into town dressed as a boy
in order to be chosen to train as one of the Duchessa's mandoliers--the
heralded guys who pole her royal mandolas (gondola-like crafts) around the
city.

"I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world" --Tears for Fears

There is a large cast involved in the palace intrigue that Lucien falls into
when he unexpectedly arrives in Belezza. That intrigue involves a wealthy
family trying to do in the Duchessa since she won't play ball and yield the
City over to their megalomaniacal schemes. And don't think that the women
have a monopoly on the smart-and-strong-yet-sensitive characters. Lucien
acquires two great father figures in Belezza, one of whom speaks in
Elizabethan English.

The title, STRAVAGANZA, comes from stravagation, the time travelling that
Lucien practices. This joyful and magical tale is the first volume of a
trilogy. Hopefully, by the time Mary Hoffman completes the second book CITY
OF STARS, the word will be out big-time and young readers will join me in
wishing they could be part of that world.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy at aol.com ( )

Eminently readable YA alternate history fantasy novel. I enjoyed it and plan to read other books by the same author. ( )

this book is a riveting tale about a young man who is able to travel between two times/dimensions via a book that his father found in a house near his highschool. Lucian is a sick boy in his world going through recovery from cemotherapy for cancer. But as he starts to travel he realizes that there is complication that go along with it. the only way he can get to the other world is being falling asleep with this book in his hands. But, his body stays in his world just as much as it exsists in the other one.

I like this book because its suspensful and very interesting. It's able to keep my attention when i read it. ( )

An exciting fantasy romance set it a parallel world of Italy. Beautifully written and very addicting! 10+

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!!! READ IT, IT'S REALLY GOOD!!!! ( )