Nonfiction masquerading as a novel and failing as either sort of narrative. (character list, historical note, glossary)...
The author of the Stravaganaza series reveals the muse behind Michelangelo’s David.
Hoffman provides a possible inspiration for Michelangelo’s famous sculpture in the form of Gabriele, a handsome fictional stonecutter whose mother served as Michelangelo’s wet nurse. Gabriele comes to model for his “milk brother” in Florence during a time of political unrest. The city is split between the compagnacci, who wish to return the city to royal Medici family rule, and the frateschi, who follow the teachings of martyr and Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, an outspoken opponent of the Medici’s wealth and influence. Michelangelo warns Gabriele to steer clear of Florence’s politics. But impressionable Gabriele is adopted by the frateschi even as his good looks earn him work as a painter’s model for a member of the compagnacci. Soon he finds himself a pawn in a street war that threatens his very life. While the concept is intriguing and the research meticulous, the execution is as dry as the frequently mentioned marble dust. Florence’s turbulent political history is provided to the reader through long, didactic speeches from a confusing crowd of secondary characters that slow all action to a standstill. The entertaining passages that detail Gabriele’s youthful sexual indiscretions, which break up the long-winded political talk considerably, are regrettably few and far between.
Nonfiction masquerading as a novel and failing as either sort of narrative. (character list, historical note, glossary) (Historical fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59990-700-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
A slow-moving but compelling tale of a queer Jewish boy battling antisemitism and the supernatural.
Young immigrant Alter Rosen lives in Chicago; it’s 1893, and the World’s Fair is in town.
Seventeen-year-old Alter longs to enjoy everything the White City has to offer him, but as a Romanian refugee in the United States, he feels it is his responsibility to earn enough money to bring his mother and his sisters over from Europe. Jewish people in the Russian empire have long been the targets and victims of government-sanctioned violence, and while life in the U.S. is still not ideal for Jews, it’s much safer. So, Alter tries his best to make an honest living and save his money. But when several Jewish boys from the tenements on Maxwell Street, where he has rented a room, end up missing or dead—including Alter’s own roommate and secret crush, Yakov—Alter knows he has to find out the truth about their fates. A highly detailed historical landscape paired with the fantastical element of the dybbuk from ancient Jewish folklore, one of whom possesses Alter, provide a solid base for the book’s leisurely paced and original narrative. Readers will become immersed in Alter’s world, rooting for his survival, hoping for his reunion with his family, and wishing for him to find the love that he deserves. An author’s note and glossary add valuable context. Main characters are White and Jewish.
A slow-moving but compelling tale of a queer Jewish boy battling antisemitism and the supernatural. (Historical thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-335-40250-9
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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