The third title in the bestselling Stravaganza seriesFeatures the striking cover lookIntrigue, adventure and excitement are the trademark ingredients for this series
Mary Hoffman is a bestselling children's author. She is the author of the picture book Amazing Grace which is an international bestseller. Her first two novels for Bloomsbury in the Stravaganza series have been bestsellers. She is a complete afficionado of Italy, and spends as much time as she can there - all her love for Italy has been infused into the Stravaganza series. Mary is also the editor of Armadillo, a children's review magazine. She has three grown-up children and lives with her husband in Carterton, outside Oxford.
Stravaganza: City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman wraps up the trilogy begun with City of Masks (about which PW said, "The Renaissance backdrop [and Venetian-style city] set an elegant mood for the time-travel toggling"). Here, a small blue glass bottle (another talisman of the Stravaganti) sends teenage Sky, whose mother is suffering from an illness, back to Giglia (the City of Flowers) in Talia-he even meets Lucien Mulholland from the launch title. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Gr 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 Niccol? 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 2005 Reed Business Information.
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