Review: City of Ships - Mary Hoffman

Synopsis: Until she finds the mysterious little bag that seems to be from another time and place, Isabel Evans is anything but extraordinary. Then she falls asleep with the bag in her hand and wakes up in another world altogether - a world where she is badly needed.

Isabel is a Stravagante, a person who can travel through time and space to a country called Talia, which is much like Italy. There she meets Flavia, a wealthy merchant whose ships have been attacked by pirates. And piracy isn't the only danger the Stravaganti face. The fierce Gate people are planning an attack by sea, while enemies of the Stavaganti are plotting to learn their secrets. Isabel will have an important role to play - she just doesn't know what it is yet.

Review: Like the others, the fifth book takes several chapters to acquaint the new character to the world of Talia, as well as introducing said character to the Stravaganti in our world, and like the others, there comes a time when the other Stravaganti have to cover for the new Stravagante while they stay in Talia overnight.

Unlike the others, Isabel has a twin to deal with, which throws in some later complications that do a lot to further the story's interest, but get wrapped up and glossed over way too quickly, leaving the Reader feeling more than a little disappointed. What few loose ends City of Secrets had are tied off in this one, and like the others, the fifth installment ends with even fewer questions than previous ones. There is a big battle, some more di Chimici die, there is another wedding, and everything is sorted out in our world for Isabel.

As much as I like this series, it seems I have more complaints than praises, and it is because it seems like no matter how many things happen, the plotline as a whole is never added on to. Each installment feels like a nicely wrapped package that could very easily stand on its own. Please, Mary Hoffman - have some questions and plot development in Book Six!!
Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in the Stravaganza Series:
1)City of Masks
2)City of Stars
3)City of Flowers
4)City of Secrets
5)City of Ships
6)City of Swords

Review: City of Secrets - Mary Hoffman

Synopsis: When Matt turns seventeen and acquires an old, leather-bound book, he's surprised by how drawn he is to it, especially since Matt is dyslexic and doesn't like to read. But the book turns out to be more powerful than he could have imagined: it is his talisman as a Stravagante, a person who can travel through time and place to a country called Talia, which is much like Italy. He is transported to Padavia University, where he meets other Stavaganti - including Luciano, a young man who's left his old world behind to live in Talia permanently, and Arianna, a beautiful duchessa in disguise as a boy. Together the three must fight the ambitious and dangerous di Chimici family, who are on the very brink of making a terrifying breakthrough into our modern world.

Review: This fourth book was a step up from the third; it was easier to follow, Matt is actually likable, despite being the jock-type, and events have started to move along, albeit at a very slow and creaky pace. I don't know how many books the Author is intending for this series, but it would be nice to see things start to develop a bit more, seeing as it's the fourth book. However, this one ends with the promise of new events - and very interesting ones at that.

Can't wait to read the fifth book.

Overall Rating: JJJ
 
Others in the Stravaganza Series:
1)City of Masks
2)City of Stars
3)City of Flowers
4)City of Secrets
5)City of Ships
6)City of Swords

Review: City of Flowers - Mary Hoffman

Synopsis: Everything changes for Sky Meadows when he finds a magical perfume bottle on his doorstep and is whisked away to Giglia, the Talian version of Florence. But in the deceptive City of Flowers, much that seems beautiful may be dangerous indeed, and Sky finds himself caught up in a deadly feud between Giglia's two ruling families: the di Chimici and the Nucci. Politics, intrigue, and espionage unfold as the Stravaganti try to prevent hatred and revenge from leading to tragedy.

Review: This was the hardest Stravaganza book to get through - and not because of its length. There was just something about Sky - perhaps it was mainly in the name - that I just did not like, and out of the three family situations so far presented, I found his to be the least interesting and the most irritating because it is a family situation which authors and day-to-day people seem to beat to a pulp. This, combined with the fact that compared to Lucien and Georgia, Sky was a little on the cardboard side, presented a main character whose traits bogged the story down to a point where I would unconsciously search for a reason not to read it.

It was also extremely difficult to keep all of the di Chimici and Nucci people straight. The Author's rather bouncy manner of switching between various scenes contributed a lot to the confusion. I never really did like the way scenes traded so suddenly and almost without connection, but it never really affected the flow of the story and the various plotlines until now. In this one, the jumping-in-between was aggravatingly noticeable, and I'll admit that all of the scenes were important; I wouldn't edit a single one out. But I would have changed their order into a smoother one, so that things felt more connected. Because the many plotlines the Author has going are intriguing and they are good, but the almost random way in which their order of appearance is assembled leaves the Reader feeling confused and really lost.

Crack through these shortcomings, and the Reader is certainly left with a plot about as good as the last two, but it takes a lot of cracking in order to see the book's potential. City of Flowers was not my favorite; I hope the other two are better.
Overall Rating: KK
 
Others in the Stravaganza Series:
1)City of Masks
2)City of Stars
3)City of Flowers
4)City of Secrets
5)City of Ships
6)City of Swords

Review: City of Stars - Mary Hoffman

Synopsis: Georgia loves horses and hates Russell, her stepbrother. It seems Russell's goal in life is to make Georgia miserable. All Georgia wants is to go horseback riding whenever she can - and to avoid Russell. When Georgia finally saves up enough money to buy the little model of a winged horse she has admired in the window of an antique shop, she knows she has to keep it out of Russell's way. But what Georgia doesn't know is that the little horse offers her an escape to another world and another time, that of sixteenth-century Remora, a city that is similar to Siena, Italy, but that has evolved quite differently.

Review: The second book in the Stravaganza Series is every bit as fun and exciting as City of Masks, though I admit that I liked Lucien's character a tad bit better than Georgia. City of Stars has a wide variety of wonderful characters, both new and old, and the Author does a tremendous job in making the Reader hate, love, and pity them. I was certainly filled with hatred towards Georgia's stepbrother Russell, and I pitied Falco's father, while I absolutely loved Falco and Cesare. The horse race in the end is thoroughly exciting, even if its result is predictable, and even if the Reader is not a horse-person like myself.

I look forward to the next book!

Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in the Stravaganza Series:
1)City of Masks
2)City of Stars
3)City of Flowers
4)City of Secrets
5)City of Ships
6)City of Swords

Review: City of Masks - Mary Hoffman

Synopsis: Lucien is very sick: he struggles just to sit up in bed, plagued with exhaustion brought on by the treatment for his cancer. But a mysterious gift from his father - a beautiful red Venetian blank book - changes all that. Whenever Lucien holds the beautiful Italian journal, his mind is swept away to an enchanting Venice-like city called Bellezza while his earthly body sleeps peacefully.

During his many visits to the city, which become more and more real, Lucien leans that he is a Stravagante, capable of traveling between two worlds. But as his body begins to follow his mind to this other world, there is always the chance that Lucien may be caught on the other side of ime and not be able to return.

Review: It's taken me a long time to turn my attention to this series because it's popular, and usually when a series is popular, it is no good. I've been proven wrong in at least two other instances: A Series of Unfortunate Events and Alex Rider. I started reading Ranger's Apprentice before it hit the popular scale anywhere but Australia. The newest Stravaganza book's synopsis had me intrigued, so I was willing to start from the very beginning and see if once more I was incorrect.

I was. I would not rate the Stravaganza Series as good as Lemony Snicket's books, but it is hard to compare it against such a unique series as that one, so I won't. I've always liked parallel world stories (indeed, my own books will probably fall under that category), and I am already particularily impressed with this one. The imagery is vivid and beautiful, the characters intriguing and likable, the concept fairly original (the Author manages to make it seem so, at any rate), and the storyline itself attention-grabbing. While it takes a few moments for the villains to surface in City of Masks, it's not a boring wait. And for once, I actually enjoyed the sections that took place in our world!

I have nothing negative to say, and I hope that I never shall. I am currently waiting impatiently for City of Stars to come in at the library so that I may speed my way to the latest installment, and then I may join the other Readers yearning for the new story to be released in 2012.

Though I'm only through the first book, the Stavaganza Series comes recommended.

Overall Rating: {{{{

Others in the Stravaganza Series:
1)City of Masks
2)City of Stars
3)City of Flowers
4)City of Secrets
5)City of Ships
6)City of Swords