Mary Hoffman has in Stravaganza: City of Masks produced a fine, complex time-slip novel filled with a love, passion and intrigue that crosses boundaries between past and present with an undeniable eloquence and sophistication. Lucien, a 21st century boy, is dying of cancer. As he drifts in and out of consciousness in his hospital bed during a particularly difficult course of treatment, he finds himself wandering the streets of Bellezza, a beautiful city similar to Venice and filled with riches and danger. As he fights the disease that is eating away at his young life, becoming stronger at first, but then weakening as his cancer begins to take a serious hold, his new life in Bellezza becomes increasingly more real and he finds himself at the centre of an age old battle between good an evil on the streets of the city ruled by the mysterious Duchessa. In the midst of Lucien"s confusion he encounters Arianna, a wilful girl intent on breaking all the rules. And as their friendship turns slowly to love, and their relationship becomes an integral part of Bellezza"s complex history, Lucien realises that he may have no choice about whether to stay in the city, or return to his own life and the parents he adores. Beautifully written and spilling over with rich, diverse images of an elegant, lush city bathed in history and tradition, Mary Hoffman cleverly switches between the harsh, clinical reality of Lucien"s 21st century illness and the sumptuous views of an opulent culture languishing somewhere in time. Clever, alluring and with a moving and unexpected ending that will leave the satisfied reader breathless, this stunning book cries out for a sequel. Age 11-14.--Susan Harrison.