I went on a trip to Italy for the first time this winter and it brought back a wave of nostalgia for a certain book series that I had absolutely adored as a child. In fact I loved it so much I "tried" (I told myself I would try) to learn Italian and dreamed of going to the beautiful city of Venice. 11 years later the dream of going to Venice finally came true - but I'm not making this post to talk about Venice. I want to talk about the book series.
This series is not well known from what I understand, but is called Stravaganza by Mary Hoffman. The series consists of six books, it started with three (which I had read when I was 9) and then apparently she had written three more, which I have just finished reading now. The book is set both in our modern London, England, and in an alternate version if Italy, named Talia, from 400 years ago. The premise of each book is quite simple - an unhappy teenager from Barnsbury Comprehensive finds a special talisman that transports them to a specific city in Talia where they go, change, and ultimately help to save the day.
The thing about this series, is that I love it, and I would recommend, but it is not amazing nor is it out of this world. It's no Tamora Pierce novel, no Harry Potter, but it is sweet, simple, and I truly understood why, as a child, I adored the books so much. With that being said, it's simplicity leads to cliches, lots of eye-rolling moments, and a bit too many happy coincidences. While the first three books were very strong, and ended on a good (but still open-ended note) - I feel the last three books, particularly the final ones, are lacking. With that being said, let me get started talking about each book, give a very brief summary and basically the thoughts I associate with each book.
