
City of Masks by Marry Hoffman
City of Masks is an "other world" novel, one where characters from our world can travel back and forth to another, in this case an alternate history 16th century Italy known as Talia. These travelers (and it works both ways) are known as "stravaganti," thus the series title. While this book takes places in this world's version of Venice (Bellezza), others in the series will range elsewhere (City of Stars, for example, is set in an alternate Sienna).
City of Masks is young adult fiction and has the thinness that one expects from books aimed at younger readers. One pleasant exception to this is the detail of the city of Belezza itself and later Venice itself as the main character first reads up on the parallel city then visits it with his parents. The physical descriptions of Belezza, its festivals, and some of its rituals and religion are all vividly... Read More