2/8/08

City of Stars

By Mary Hoffman

Review by Kevin

A magical winged horse model that teleports you to a 16^th century world with flying horses exactly like the winged horse model? Georgia, a female horse fanatic at Barnsbury Comprehensive saves up to buy this item at a local antique store. She goes to sleep with it in her hand and finds herself in a 16^th century world of rival clans, stuff that should be in the British Museum, and horses. Of course, Georgia loves her new ancient friends and all the horses there at the ancient city of Remora, the City of Stars. However, the head of the ambitious di Chimici family, Duke Niccoló, is plotting an evil plan, and a luck charm owned by friends of Georgia’s (a horse with a pair of wings), has been stolen.

Georgia, a tenth grade girl and the main character of Mary Hoffman’s breath-taking novel City of Stars, must make decisions that will determine other people’s lives and discover the source of an evil plot before it is too late.

Georgia sees a delicately carved winged horse model in a local antique shop. Loving it, she buys it and goes to sleep, clutching it in her hand. Before waking up, though, she finds herself in a fifteenth century world. Then Georgia finds out about the town’s history from a teenager about the power-hungry di Chimici family. Unfortunately, the evil di Chimici family is hatching another creepy plan, and Georgia must stop it before it is too late. However, Georgia is only a wacky high school girl from London. What can Georgia alone do? Or is she alone?

The annual horse race in Remora, the Stellata, is going to be held when Georgia is there. However, the Ram’s (friends’ clan) good luck charm, the flying horse, has been taken. Georgia puts even more pressure onto Arcangelo, her horse, hoping to at least to not be selected as jockey for the Ram only to lose face for that Twelfth by ending up in last place. Georgia is last place in the beginning, but she pushes Arcangelo harder, hoping to save the Ram’s face. Georgia is a fine bareback rider (that is how they ride horses in Talia, the ancient country) along with the help of strong Arcangelo, but the other jockeys seem to be a LOT better. Georgia starts to lose confidence. Can an amateur horse rider beat eleven other expert bareback riders helped with super-expensive deals that will almost ensure their victory, especially the Lady and the Twins, which the di Chimici family controls?

People who love fiction with different worlds or ever-changing settings are going to love this book. This book is really worth reading, as suspense builds up when Enrico, Duke Niccoló’s spy, creeps up upon Luciano and Georgia as they go to Santa Fina (a neighboring city) to check up on Merla, the winged horse. What’s going to happen? That, and there are always incidents that make your hold your breath. You are always wondering, but not so much as you are getting tired of the mysterious aura emanating from the cunning plot. I think Mary Hoffman’s double world, multi-perspective style of writing for the Stravaganza series is very difficult to try, but she can do it perfectly, so I, and I believe, any other reader, can understand the writing. All the worlds link together, a unique style. Mary Hoffman is an amazing writer, and not only City of Stars is a thumbs-up book, City of Masks, with the plot unfolding in the Talian city of Belleza, has been reviewed as an awesome, recommended book, and is the first of the Stravaganza series (City of Stars taking place mostly in Remora is the second).

Although I have not read them yet, I bet the rest of the Stravaganza series is just as attractive as City of Stars!