Stravaganza: City of Flowers
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 LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.