Stravaganza City of Masks

by Mary Hoffman

Book Overview

During the day, Lucien battles cancer in his modern, normal life. But at night, he becomes a Stravagante, a time-traveler of sorts who finds himself in Belleza, a city parallel to old Venice.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582347913
• ISBN13: 9781582347912
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.4" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

This series of books are really good. i am 24 and i still love reading them. on this one it reminds me of my dad who had lung cancer and passed from it so i can relate to it even now.

Stravaganza: City of Masks is awesome!

Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman is the first of three books in a wonderful fantasy series. Lucien is sick with cancer; he cannot go to school or even get out of his bed, but when he receives an Italian journal from his father, his whole life changes. If Lucien holds the journal while he sleeps, his mind is taken to the city of Bellezza. When he is there, he is completely well, and the more he visits Bellezza the more real it seems. Lucien then finds out that he is able to travel between two worlds; he is a Stravaganza. The problem is, the more he travels to this extraordinary city, the more he seems to vanish from his own world and his family. Will Lucien continue to travel between the two worlds or will he be stuck in a world that he barely knows forever? I loved this book and can't wait to read the next in the series. Once you start reading, Stravaganza: City of Masks draws you in and you just can't wait to see what happens. You can fall in love with all of the characters and you really start to care about them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to escape into another world; people of all ages can enjoy a book like this!

Travel to a new world

Lucien has been diagnosed with cancer. Undergoing chemotherapy is very tiring, and soon he finds himself falling asleep while clutching a beautiful notebook. Unbeknownst to Lucien the notebook is from a parallel world called Talia, similar to Renaissance Italy. Lucien finds himself in the beautiful city of Bellezza, similar to our Venice. Ruled by the powerful and beautiful Duchessa, Lucien soon finds himself being drawn closer into this world. But all is not right in Talia. The powerful di Chimici family is determined to take over all of Talia, and the Duchessa is in the way. Can Lucien help save the Duchessa before it's too late? This is my new favorite book! I absolutely enjoyed it! Part historical, part fantasy, part mystery, and part political intrigue, this book has everything. The author has crafted a wonderful mystery perfect for any fantasy lover. Check it out, it's really good!

A Whole New Fantasy Idea for All Ages- City of Masks

This is a new and exciting fantasy book about a boy named Lucien living in England. He is coping with brain cancer and chemotherapy treatment. His father tells him stories about far away lands and cities. He gives him a book not knowing it is a talisman for stravangating, or travelling between worlds. Whenever Lucien falls asleep holding it, he is transported to a parallel universe and city much like present day Venice called Belezza. He meets Arianna; a 15 year old girl who is looking for adventure. Soon after a mysterious chain of events is set in place around the Duchessa and the city. Lucien (or Luciano in Belleza) gets wrapped up in a adventure he could never dream of in his cancerous body, but finds out that being a Stravangate is a dangerous and powerful thing.

Stravaganza, City Of Masks

This is a wonderful book! The author intertwined many plots and sub-plots that all pop up suddenly somewhere to add suspense to the book. Throughout the book, characters surprise you with links to other characters and sudden decisions. This book has everything from making lace to assasinatiion plans. I won't tell you more because it might ruin the ecsquisite suspense and twisted plots that make up this book.

A wonderful, magical stravaganza for all ages

STRAVAGANZA: CITY OF MASKS, by Mary Hoffman, is a the first book in a brand new fantasy series which has all the signs of someday being a favorite. Through Hoffman's writing the characters and setting come wonderfully to life, and the result is a story that readers will want to revisit many times over, simply to drink in the magic.The story is spun around the character of Lucien Mulholland, a boy living in modern-day London of our world, where he is bedridden from being treated for brain cancer. When the chemotherapy makes his throat so sore that he cannot speak properly, Lucien's father brings him home a blank book with a beautifully marbled cover so that Lucien can write whatever he needs to say. However, when Lucien falls asleep with the book in the pocket of his pajamas, he wakes up to find himself in another world entirely. What's more, in this world it is as though he has never had cancer in his life.In Bellezza, a Venice-like city state in the country of Talia, Lucien finds himself swept up in the political undercurrent of the city, who's people and mysterious Duchessa are working with all their might to keep free from the clutches of the Chimici family. Lucien is taken in by the "scientist" Rodolfo, who explains thta the book was a talisman made to help people like Lucien travel, or "stravagate" between the two worlds. Lucien's companion and guide in Belezza is the beautiful 15-year-old girl named Arianna, who will wind up playing a bigger role in the city's fate than one would imagine.I myself had never even heard of this book up until my attention was caught by its flashy cover as it sat on one of the shelves at the local bookstore. Now, however, I look forward eagerly to the publication of book two so that I can revisit the world of Talia and stravagation, a world that has not yet left me after my first reading about it. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, for I think that this is one of the better books that has been published recently.Enjoy!