Stravaganza: City of Stars
"Stravaganza: City of Stars" is a sequel to "Stravaganza: City of Masks." "Stravaganza: City of Stars" is a young adult fantasy novel that provides vivid descriptions of lands far away as well as accurately depicts issues contemporary youth deal with every day.
We follow the lives of a young Londoner, named Georgia, and citizens of the centuries old city of Talia. The London of today and the sixteenth century city of Talia would seem worlds away, but not if you have a Talisman and are a Stravaganti. What are the Stravaganti? They are a brotherhood of scientists that have the ability to transport between worlds of the past and the world of today.
Georgia, a fifteen-year-old horse aficionado, finds herself transported back in time to sixteenth century Talia. She learns she is a Stravaganti and has entered into Talia through the use of her Talisman. Her Talisman is a small, winged horse statue that she bought one day at a store near her home. Throughout the novel, she realizes that she came to own the Talisman, not by accident, but by destiny.
This 458-page novel contains copious detail about the cities and citizens of Talia. The viewpoint switches several times in each chapter with a winged horse icon denoting the change of viewpoint. The extensive amount of characters can be hard to keep track of while reading the story. However, the author has provided a "family tree" in the back of the novel for your reference.
This novel is for an advanced reader with a long attention span for description. The story itself will hook the reader, but at times the back-story of each character slowed the pace of the novel. However, I enjoyed the adventurous parts when Georgia and Falco traveled between the two very different worlds. The reader will care for the fate of Georgia and Falco, which will keep them reading to the very last page.
Horses are an integral part of the story. Winged horses and horse racing provide an exciting adventure for all, especially horse lovers.
