City of Stars , by Mary Hoffman

Paperback, 453 pages

Published June 21st 2004 by Bloomsbury (first published 2003)

ISBN

0747565007 (ISBN13: 9780747565000)

edition language

English

original title

City of Stars

series

Stravaganza #2

characters

Ralph, Russell, Maura, Luciano Crinamorte, Georgia O'Grady

 

Georgia is an ordinary girl, living in London with her mother, stepfather and bully of a stepbrother and coping with the difficulties of growing up. But all that changes when she buys a tiny figurine in the form of a winged horse and suddenly finds herself swept up into the world of the Stravagante. Her talisman, the figurine, transports her to Remora the Talian parallel to Siena, Italy. There she meets Lucien, the Stravagante we first met in City of Masks and many other fascinating people who are in the midst of preparing for the Stellata, the city's annual horse race. Intrigue, romance, and the rare appearance of a true winged horse ensure an exciting adventure to rival the first in this captivating series

 

My Review

I remember a friend recommended me this book, or well this series of books, a while ago because they said it was different and that it put together history and present times together. And I admit, that after reading it, it was a little interesting because it seemed to make you think about what you would do to change the past if you had the chance to control it and the actions and consequences. The story was mythical and powerful and overall engaging because it seemed to invite the imagination to open up and really take a look at everything that was there within its pages and at all the different characters. I was a little tired when reading it so I probably didn't take in the entire fall dept, but I did enjoy it a lot.

 

I think when we are children we all imagine that flying horses exist, as well as unicorns and all sorts of magical creatures. We believe in magic and creatures and we believe we are industructable. Its a powerful write and it really seemed to make me feel like I was living in my childhood and that of course meant that the book became more vibrant. Georgia is living in a very difficult life, where there is a brother, or well step brother, who is bullying her but no one else can see it. She needs an escape from life and yet she can not seem to get it because he is alwaysthere, always spying on her and telling on her. She is tired of this life and wants to live but its become hard. That is until she finds an escape through a tallion she just didn't know she had, a tallion in the formation or a winged horse.

 

In the other part of the world there is a boy with a flying horse that needs to be hidden for its own safety and there is another boy who is being sent to priesthood because he is not fit to be married off due to a gammy leg. Georgia could very well be the thing, the person, that helps to make the final changes that need to be made to make there society better. She soon becomes a popular person over there which isnt hard considering there is another boy of her time there who is living there because he died back in her world. The only problem was that they all thought she was a boy, because of the style of her hair and the way that she dresses and acts, but that isnt too big a problem and it is one that she works around. 

 

We see a lot of mysteries unravel in this book though and we can see that times are hard. Georgia really wants to help everyone, and she does things that she never thought she could do. It seems to make her a better and stronger person, someone who now knows what it means to survive and to enjoy life. she knows that times are hard but that actually its not about fighting back its all about turning the other cheek and looking at what needs to be done. I felt that there was a whole lot of morals and meanings here within the lines, a lot of things that were meant to challenge us and to make us look at our life in a whole new aspect and formation. I do think that the book was well written adn I actually look forward to reading the rest of the series. you could just get this sense that you could relate to the story and that actually if you looked at it with open eyes you could make it more alive in the sense that you became one with the book. a wonderful write that I would happily read again. 

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