The Last Girls of Pompeii

By Kathryn Lasky

In Pompeii, in the summer of A.D. 79, Julia and Sura appear to lead opposite lives. Julia is the daughter of a wealthy ship-builder; Sura is an orphan. Julia bears the Curse of Venus a withered arm; Sura s beauty turns heads. Julia is free; Sura is her slave. Then Julia learns that her parents are planning to put her in the service of the Temple of Damia, the center of a cultish new religion, and Sura will be sold to an awful man who plans to make her his concubine. But when Mt. Vesuvius erupts, Julia s and Sura s fates are forever altered, forcing them both to face the true meaning of freedom. "

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670061964
• ISBN13: 9780670061969
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Interesting Reading for All Ages

Kathryn Lasky is the author of over 100 books, both fiction and non fiction, many of them for children of all ages. She was born in Indiana. Pompeii was one of the most beautiful Roman cities and in the summer of AD 79, it was bathed in sunshine, sunshine that cast shadows on the side of Mount Vesuvius. Two young women, hardly more than children live in the city and although their lives are interminably intertwined they come from very different backgrounds. Julia is the daughter of a wealthy ship-builder, mitka is an orphan. Julia bears the curse of Venus, in the form of a withered arm. Mitka's beauty turns the head of anyone who sees her. Julia is free, but Mitka is her slave. Then one day Julia finds out that her parents are planning to enter her into the Temple of Damia, the centre for a new religion and Mitka will be sold to an awful man who plans to make her his plaything. But events bring changes. Mount Vesuvius has always been there and it will always be there. It is just a part of the landscape surrounding Pompeii. But one day the mountain erupts and Julia and Mitka's fates are forever changed. Forcing them both to face the true meaning of freedom.