City of Masks (Stravaganza Series #1)

The best book I've read in years!!!!

This book is amazingly fantastic. Its located in 1577 Bellezza, which is very similar to this times, Venice. Mary Hoffman is a great author, & I can't wait to read her other books. If you like sight-seeing & beautiful cities, you should read City of Masks. I used to stay up late just read this great book. I checked it out of my library because of its cool cover, even though it was kind of thick. This book really gets your imagination going. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat, making you want to finish reading it. It is full of excitement and thrill. It is a romantic action, and mysterious book, that many readers will love. This book is fun if you are just looking for a distraction on your everyday books. It took me awhile to read it, but it was still very interesting.
Lucien is ill, with cancer, and is bed founded. Days were ghastly, and nights were even worse. Terrible. He has found a talisman that when he drifts to asleep he transports or stravagates to a new world. In his regular world he is fragile & weak. In his new Bellezza he is well-built, strong, & tough. He soon finds out he cannot stay long, and has to wake up to enter his own world. Returning to Bellezza he finds himself in bizarre situations. He has help with a firework display, dove for gold, & saved Bellezza's precious ruler. He meets new friends, & maybe even a little romance. He has a great friend Arianna. When she grows up she wants to change the world, but something tragic and unexpected happens, and suddenly her world changes forever.
The author of this book really described the setting very well. She described it so distinctly that I could picture it in my mind, & every time Lucien went back to Bellezza I pictured the same thing. There were very extreme parts where I couldn't put my book down. I even got distracted in my classes & started reading it. The author was very well at making unexpected suspense points in the book. I found it a little confusing, but then after I read a few chapters, I really got into it. Things that you will assume will, or will not happen, creating surprising events.
This book is very great and fun to read. I can picture myself in Lucien's shoes. I cannot wait until I find another of Mary Hoffman's books. I can get soo caught up in reading that its scary. I like books that have a suspenseful plot happening then it just ends at the chapter, making me want to read on to the next chapter. The ending is fantastic and will make you want to read the sequals. When I was reading this book I found myself skipping other parts to get to the interesting parts. There was not one part of the book that I didn't like. It was all so great. I really enjoyed reading this heart-stopping novel. I would recommend this book to teen readers.
I love this book and could read it ten times more if I wanted to. I was always anxious to turn to the next page. I give this book at least 4 stars.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

WOAH

I actually found this book by accident, we were doing a project in the library where we had to take a look at some of the more unpopular books. This one had never been checked out. I checked it out on a whim, I was a little doubtful it would be any good. Yet here I am. The book is fantastic, simply the best fantasy I've read in a very long time!

The City of Masks

I find it funny now that i was in a second hand book store looking for any fantasy book i could get ahold of. I was with my mom, and the only problem was I'm super picky about my books, and I thank her for finding this series of books for me. I wasn't sure at the beginning, traveling to another dimension but it was a century, or more, before ours, what?? But i kept reading and the whole story line grew on me so much, i wanted to cry when i finished, the ending was magnificint! It was so good that when i finished i waited an hour and then started the second book, City Of Stars. This series is great for any reading who loves a book that really could never happen in real life. I love this series!!!

Enchanted by the City of Masks

Lucien, a cancer patient, finds his dreams taking him to a new land of ancient Venice. There he encounters original charactors, such as a new friend and a royal. Soon he uncovers that he cant stay there for long and is compelled to wake up again. The City of Masks is a magical story that any reader would be glad to read. It is enchanting, smart, and suspensfull. I'm glad it ended up on my bookshelf.

Shows promise, but...

This book is about a boy named Lucien who discovers that he can visit (or stavagate to) the world of Talia using a book his dad finds for him. Lucien is suffering from cancer, and is really weak from chemo therapy. This book is basically about his adventures in Talia (in the city of Bellezza, which is an alternate version of Venice) and the friends that he makes.

The beginning of this book drew me in. It was exciting and fun to read. But farther into it, the book really lost its flavor. It felt as if the author gave up on it. There was no enthusiasm, the description was bland and the unforgettable characters became...forgettable. It could have been a truly incredible book if done correctly but, by the end, I felt like Mary Hoffman just gave up on it. At the ending, she didn't really tie it together well, it seemed rushed and left me hanging. It seemed like, once I was done reading, that this could have been edited and revised more. Mary Hoffman could have used a lot more voice to keep the book from becoming tasteless, but she didn't.

However, this book was not completely horrible. The city of Bellezza was enchanting and unforgettable and the characters were fresh. The plot was intense and Mary Hoffman obviously gave a lot of thought to the politics and customs of Bellezza.

This book is okay or good (depending on what part) but it definitely isn't great.

Surprisingly good.

Dispite the rather obnoxious cover and cliche start, the book is actually one of the best I've read in years. It's about a boy, dying in the real world, who discovers a magical book that will transport him to an alternate universe if he falls asleep holding it. There he meets all sorts of crazy characters, in a world that is very like, and yet different from, venice. Constantly thrilling, and incredibly surprising. The author has quite a flare for unexpected but enjoyable plot twists. Things that you assume will, or will not happen, surprise you around every corner, making you really doubt what will happen to the character next. There's one character, named Detheridge, who is unendingly annoying to read, as the author makes the mistake of inscribing the characters old-english accent. But the world is described vividly, and it draws your imagination in, as you soar through a whole new universe with Lucian, or Luciano. A definate read... four and a half stars.

Rivals Harry Potter in the Suspense Department

This is an amazing book with an exciting plotline, descriptions of garrish Venetian palaces, and meaningful moral. Some may find it slightly confusing in the beginning, but the switching view point format makes it more suspenseful. All the characters are well developed and face life-altering decisions with no turning back. This is the book that gave me second thoughts about the hero(s) and the villain(s). It's the sort of book that has to be read to be experienced! The ending makes it a real teardripper, but leaves you with a glimmer of hope.

Fantastic!!!

Wow, what a great book!! it is my favorite so far in the series!!1 I love how she tied facts in with fiction!!

I JUST LOVED IT

this book is one of the best books i've ever read and it really held my attention and i cant wait to see what happenes in the next two novels

LOVE IT

this was one of my top picks at the library and i have told everyone i know to read it...its simply SUPERB! Great writing and wonderful, unforgetful characters!!!

One of the best books i've EVER read!!

Breath-taking!! I'll admit, the beginning was a little slow at first, but it slowly progressed until I had to force myself to put the book down! What I loved most about this book was that it wasn't very predictable, sure some parts I figured out but overall it was unforeseeable. Very well written too, with interesting characters with their own unique personalities. Includes everything a fantasy book should contain. I LUV IT!!!

Stravaganza: City of Masks!

Stravaganza: City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman was a really great book. If you love Fantasy like I do, then you will really like this book. Lucien, the main character who has cancer and cant get out of bed, comes across an Italian journal that transports him to a Venice like city, Bellezza, when he falls asleep with it. His body stays sleeping peacefully, but his trips to Bellezza are real like. As they get more and more real, it¿s harder for him to get back out. He loves being there, with the friends he makes, and being able to not feel sick and being able to walk, but he is worried about his parents, and what they would do if they find they couldn¿t wake him up. This Adventure takes you off into this unbelievable Fantasy world that you feel apart of. The Magic and the thrill are on every page. That¿s why I couldn¿t put it down. The ending is awesome, and just makes you want to read the sequel. I highly recommend this book to all the Fantasy Fanatics like me. You wont regret reading it!

A Great Book But Takes A While for the Action

I loved this book! It's descriptions between venice back then and venice today were excellent! Amazing writing and a great plot! It's very creative, but I guess I'm a little impatient when it comes to the action. I found myself actually putting the book down for a while... corse I have bad timing because I was just about to get to the best part of the story! Despite the wait I loved it! I hope you enjoy reading it!

The Marouge Book Review

'This eptic masterpice combines politics with a world that seems real. It will grab hold the reader with it's delightful twists an turns.'

Excellent!!!!!!

This is probably the best piece of literature I have ever read.Very Different from most fictional tales.If you like adventure this is perfect.Also a good book if you belive theres another dimension out there.

LOVED THIS BOOK!

This book has got to be one of my favorites. I first heard of the series when one of my friends started reading City of Stars. I recomend this book to everybody who likes Venice.

superb!

This book is completely spellbinding. I couldn't put it down. I recently visited Venice and love how Hoffman converted some actual things in Venice to something slightly different in Bellezza. (example: the Venetian Bridge of Sighs becomes the Bellezzan Bridge of Sorrows.) Hoffman is an amazing writer!

I Loved It

This book rocked!! Lucien has cancer in our world, hes slowly dying,and he knows it! Then while holding this special notebook,he goes to Belezza, a city much like Venice in the 1500s. He meets Arianna,a peasant girl who is the first girl born in the town she lives in for 20 years. Did I mention that the city is rule by a loved and lovely Duchessa? Lucien ,Arianna,and all the rest get caught up in a plot to murder somebody.

This book is incredible!

I absolutely loved this book. There was never a dull moment that ever made me want to put it down. I read it for school, but I also read it willingly. It was full of action, romance, mystery, history, and drama all in one!

This was a fabulous book!

This story was so intriguing! I have often thought that I would once find myself in some distant land a century back after reading this book. The plot was wonderfull Mary Hoffman.