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Review

"Hoffman…does a fine job with her alternate worlds [and] her winning main characters." (The New York Times Book Review)"A compelling entry in an addictive series." (Kirkus Reviews)"The lovingly created, richly detailed locales are one of the distinctive pleasures of the series, along with the subtle portrayal of both major and minor characters.…Shifts in points of view and setting…propel the story, carrying readers along for an adventurous ride. A fine sequel to the first novel." (Booklist)"Watch the eyes of would-be Machiavellis shine." (Bulletin of Center for Children's Books)"Fans of the first book will find the sequel equally appealing." (School Library Journal)

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About the Author

Mary Hoffman is the author of many books for children, including the internationally bestselling Stravaganza series. She lives in Oxfordshire, England.

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Product details

Age Range: 12 and up

Grade Level: 7 - 9

Lexile Measure: 890L (What's this?)

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Series: Stravaganza

Paperback: 464 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (April 16, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1582349827

ISBN-13: 978-1582349824

Product Dimensions:

5.1 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

Average Customer Review:

4.5 out of 5 stars

16 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#1,703,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

love this entire series!!! would totally appeal to the harry potter fans. I CANNOT PUT IT DOWN whenever I get one of these...lost sleep, but enjoyable reading!

Great read. Especially for those about to travel to Italy. Gives an alternative Italy on a separate plain to ours, however the time travel element is fascinating and well played out. I love the historical mix up of ages and knowledge. An excellent very readable series which can be read independently and still enjoyed.

One of my favorite series. Keeps you intrigued the whole time. Great characters and great plot. Hope you enjoy it.

"City of Stars" is the second in Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series (of which there are currently five installments), following on from City Of Masks. The basic premise of the story is based on people known as the Stravagante: a select group of individuals from our world who can transport in their sleep to the country of Talia, an alternative version of Italy in the sixteenth century. Armed with a unique talisman that enables passage between the worlds, the young Stravagante inevitably find themselves caught up in the political intrigue and power mongering that goes on in the beautiful cities of Talia, whilst simultaneously trying to deal with the repercussions of their normal lives in the waking world.The previous book centered on a terminally ill boy called Lucien and his permanent transition into the city of Belleza in which he is able to live out his life free of cancer, even if it means leaving his family behind him. In this sequel the perspective shifts to a shy, quirky girl called Georgia O'Grady who is trying to cope with her mother's remarriage and the presence of a bullying stepbrother in the house. She has just saved up enough money to buy a beautiful winged horse ornament at the local antique store. Unbeknownst to her it is a talisman that allows her to transport to Talia that very night.Specifically, to the capital of Talia: the city of Remora. Here the city is divided up into twelve wards, each aligning to a sign of the Zodiac, where rivalry between each faction is rife. This unrest provides a breeding ground for the likes of the ambition di Chimici family to work their manipulations. They have long-since desired to add the free city of Belleza to their ever-growing republic, and are all set to rig the annual Remoran horse race in order to consolidate their reputation of superiority among the people.But on the same night that Georgia appears in the city, a miracle is born in the stables of the Ram: the first winged foal in over a hundred years, one that bears an eerie similarity to the small model that Georgia carries with her.What follows is a story of horse-racing, political machinations, family dramas (in both worlds), and a coming-of-age story for our young protagonist. In fact, it's quite a mish-mash of several disparate story-threads which are only tangentially related to each other, making it not quite up to the standard of City Of Masks. To be honest, I found the plot rather slow-going considering the narrative kept switching from one arc to the next, with no real sense of urgency in any of them. Though it's certainly as vibrant and sensory as the previous book, it would have helped had there been one central storyline instead of half-a-dozen subplots, including Georgia trying to deal with her stepbrother's bullying, the upcoming horse race, the Duchessa of Belleza's marriage propositions, the theft of the winged horse, and the meeting of the Stravagantes with two young members of the di Chimici family, including one that is desperate for Georgia's help.Falco di Chimici is a young boy crippled by a riding accident who is entranced by Lucien's tale of recuperation in Talia. He believes that could he travel to Georgia's world he would be able to overcome his injuries with the help of the more advanced healthcare, and hatches a plan with Georgia and Lucien to leave his family and find a place for himself in their world. In what is a nice reversal of the previous book's scenario, it is someone from Talia who must learn to cope with the 21st century, and like the previous book, Hoffman manages to make it a difficult, poignant transition for everyone involved.Another interesting development that is built on from City Of Masks is that the di Chimici family is now painted in shades of grey rather than the straight-up villains they were in the previous books. Characters like Falco and his brother Gaetano are sympathetic young men who disapprove of their family's political wrangling, and even the likes of patriarch Duke Niccolo di Chimici is allowed to show a softer side in the affection and grief he feels for his son.Hoffman always shows a deft touch with her characterization throughout, for even the horrid Russell (whose use of strong derogatory terms throughout the story may raise a few parental eyebrows) gets a glimmer of redemption at the book's conclusion. Of further interest is Hoffman's afterword in which she discusses some of the similarities between our world's version of certain Talian traditions, and how they were reshaped for the novel. She's clearly put a lot of time and effort into research and consistency, and it may pique the interest of many young readers into learning more about the Reinassance.Lastly, the whys and wherefores of the Stravagante phenomenon is shrouded in mystery, but there are a few hints scattered throughout "City of Stars" that suggests there is a rhyme and reason for certain people finding their way into Talia. I certainly hope this is explored further in previous books. In light of the final paragraph, I couldn't help but feel that much of what happens in "City of Stars" is setup for the next book, City of Flowers. Though that left me a little cold, I'm still looking forward to what else is in store for this particular series.

Middle books in trilogies often suffer the problem of being just a "bridge" work that adds very little to overall plot or characterization within the main storyline. Hoffman manages to avoid this pitfall nicely but making wholesale changes in focus for her sequel to City of Masks. The story still involves travel between our world and Talia, an alternate 16th century Italy, though the specific setting is no longer Belezza (Florence) but Remora, a parallel Sienna about to run it most famous and important horse race. And while Mask characters reappear, the major focus is on several brand new characters: Georgia, a young girl from our world unhappy with her step-brother and overall social situation; Cesare, a young Remoran jockey, and several new di Chimici's, whom fans will recall are the villains of the series, though this novel shows that not all family members have the same goals. City of Stars displays the same descriptive strengths as Masks, with Remora visualized in vivid, detailed splendor, though at times while the many twists and turns of the factions in Remora are explained the reader may wish for slightly less detail or complexity. The plot of Stars, while centered on a lot of political intrigue as in Masks, is more concrete and focused and with the addition of a few characters whose allegiances remain unknown, overall more interesting and compelling, though the book suffers from the same abstractness with regard to the Stravaganti themselves. The plot is also hurt a bit by the book's length, which is overlong by about a 100 pages I'd say--detracting from the suspense and creating a few scenes that bog the reader down while seeming superfluous. Characters remain a bit thin. As in Masks, females do well, with Georgia a relatively strong character, especially in comparison to Cesare who is not particularly well-developed. Georgia's stepbrother, unfortunately, is a bit cartoonish and her parents may as well not be there (a step back from Masks where Lucien's mother added a great deal of emotional depth). Lucien, Arianna, Rodolfo, and the Duchessa reappear, but not to any real deepening of character, though the concept of the attraction between Arianna and Lucien is highlighted and made more complex by the addition of several near-age characters to themselves (including one who proposes to Arianna). Gaetano, one of the new di Chimici's, is solid, but it would have improved things to get a sense of just why he doesn't necessarily go along with his family's machinations, a sense of development to the point we see him at. The same is true of his brother Falco, who has suffered a crippling accident and hopes to convince Lucien and Georgia to take him into our world where he could be cured. His desire and will to do so is probably the book's strongest plot line and is well-handled throughout, especially the effect of his actions on his family, adding some strong emotional impact into the mix at the end. Overall, though Stars is a flawed book, it seems an improvement on Masks and would bode well for continued improvement in plot and character for book three.

In the second installment of the Stravaganza series, we meet Georgia: a tom-boy school girl who is the newest person to join the Stravagante. Georgia soon becomes closely involved with the Stellata, the biggest horse race in Talia. There's rumor of a legendary winged horse that has been born to one of the contestants, but is true? And will the di Chimici find the horse and use it to tighten their grip on Talia forever?Although this is not quite as good as the first, it is still really good. In addition to seeing old favorite characters (inlcuding Lucien from the first book) we meet and follow several new ones as well giving the book a fresh, new quality. Also a new feature, we meet several di Chimici and are able to see more into the lives of these powerful political plotters. A satisfying continuation of the series, don't miss it.

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