Stravaganza: City of Masks

Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2002, 258 pp., $16.95 Terminal IllnessAlme-Space Travel ISBN: 1-58234-791-3

Fifteen-year-old Lucien is dying of cancer in London, England. When his father gives him an old Italian blank journal, Lucien falls asleep holding it, and suddenly finds himself transported back in time, cancer free, to the Vienna-like other-world city of Belezza, 1577. Here, as a "stravagant," or a wanderer between two worlds, he enters a realm governed by a masked Duchesssa, named Silvia.

The Belezza city and government are at risk of being destroyed by the Chiminci, a group determined to assassinate the Duchessa. They are using Lucien's mysterious journal to "stravagate" between two worlds, and steal 21st Century "magic" to control the world of 1577 Belezza.

Inadvertently, Lucien enters this scheme of intrigue, trying to stop the Chiminci from assassinating the beloved Duchessa. Protected by a magician who is the Duchessa's lover, and befriended by adventure seeking Arianna, Lucien saves the kingdom from the impending coup. Simultaneously, he dies in his 21st century London.

Told with page-turning intrigue, this story has richly drawn characters, interesting details, rich settings, and multiple perspectives. All of this and more will keep readers "stravagating" with Lucien as they enter the first volume of a planned adventure trilogy.

Cyrene Wells

Machias, Maine

Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Fall 2002
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