Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (September 24, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618747885
ISBN-13: 978-0618747887
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #514,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #24 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction > Renaissance #347 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family > Parents
This is a beautiful, richly-detailed portrait of a young girl in Renaissance Italy. Readers will laugh, cry, and experience Vini's hunger for the art she is forbidden to explore. We follow Vini as she grows to understand more about her parents and herself. Teens will identify with her as she learns more about the nature of life, love and longing. Adults and some perceptive teens will appreciate the symoblism of Vini's awakening adulthood as she "breaks the strings" that have controlled her young life, just as they control the puppets on the town square. Excellent historical detail enlightens without sounding pedantic. After I finished it, I handed the book to my 17-year-old daughter. She couldn't put it down, until she turned the last page. I have recommended this book to many adult friends, and so far, no one has been disappointed!
Everyone takes feminism for granted. No one who reads this book will ever do so again. Young readers will learn what it was like to try to "follow your heart" if you were a woman in the days of the Renaissance. Lavinia Fontana, a genius and probably the most famous female painter of the Italian Renaissance, did not have an easy path. Forbidden to paint because of her gender, she has to convince a boy who works in her father's studio to pretend her paintings are his so that she can learn and get materials so she can paint--in secret.Readers will want to rise up in rage against Lavinia's father, though, like Vini, they will eventually come to some tolerance of him.A heartrending story with a great end, The Vanishing Point is a must-read.
This book is a wonderful cross between history and fantasy. I'm more of a fantasy type person, but I found this a wonderful story with just a touch of romance. I must warn you that it may seem strange at first due to the fact that it's in first person, but as the story goes on, it feels more welcome.
This was a very fast read full of imagery and a simple story. It is a great book for an afternoon read. The author captures the mind and senses of an artist and paints them into the page.
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