The Vanishing Point

By Louise Hawes

Book Overview

In lush, glowing prose, Louise Hawes's historical novel draws readers into the life and art of sixteenth-century Bologna with a compelling account of Lavinia Fontana, arguably the most famous female painter of the Italian Renaissance. Here readers will find a coming-of-age story filled with quest, complication, and catastrophe as well as miracles and hope. Although the novel is set four hundred years ago, the hard choices it involves speak to all times, all places, and are sure to tap into readers' own conflicts between head and heart, real life and dreams.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618747885
• ISBN13: 9780618747887
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

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This book is a wonderful cross between history and fantasy. I'm more of a fantasy type person, but I found this a wonderful story with just a touch of romance. I must warn you that it may seem strange at first due to the fact that it's in first person, but as the story goes on, it feels more welcome.

The Vanishing Point

Everyone takes feminism for granted. No one who reads this book will ever do so again. Young readers will learn what it was like to try to "follow your heart" if you were a woman in the days of the Renaissance. Lavinia Fontana, a genius and probably the most famous female painter of the Italian Renaissance, did not have an easy path. Forbidden to paint because of her gender, she has to convince a boy who works in her father's studio to pretend her paintings are his so that she can learn and get materials so she can paint--in secret. Readers will want to rise up in rage against Lavinia's father, though, like Vini, they will eventually come to some tolerance of him. A heartrending story with a great end, The Vanishing Point is a must-read.

A Must-read for both adults and YAs

This is a beautiful, richly-detailed portrait of a young girl in Renaissance Italy. Readers will laugh, cry, and experience Vini's hunger for the art she is forbidden to explore. We follow Vini as she grows to understand more about her parents and herself. Teens will identify with her as she learns more about the nature of life, love and longing. Adults and some perceptive teens will appreciate the symoblism of Vini's awakening adulthood as she "breaks the strings" that have controlled her young life, just as they control the puppets on the town square. Excellent historical detail enlightens without sounding pedantic. After I finished it, I handed the book to my 17-year-old daughter. She couldn't put it down, until she turned the last page. I have recommended this book to many adult friends, and so far, no one has been disappointed!