My trip to Italy in August was amazing. I absolutely loved it. As part of my trip, I wanted to read a lot of Italy-based books before we left. Well, that didn't happen.
And then, my intentions to read on the plane fell apart. (Headaches + air travel + reading = bad.)
So, on my last happy reading day, I read a couple of them.
They took me right back to Tuscany (I think that book will be next week's review), and Sorrento (the week after that), and the canals of Venice.
That's the focus for this week.
I was lent Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord right before I left. Another teacher in the community (and a mom of a couple of my students) just came back from Italy right before I left, and she read this book on her plane ride, so she recommended I do the same.
Let me start off by saying how much I loved - LOVED - Venice.
If I had to choose a favourite part of Italy, that might be it. Maybe. If I had to choose. Probably.
Anyway.
The Thief Lord is a YA novel.
I don't typically read YA books, but I did enjoy this one, thanks to the link with the setting.
It is quick-paced, and a quick read.
The premise follows Prospero, age 12, and his brother, Boniface, age 5. The brothers run away after the death of their parents, when their rich aunt and uncle want to separate the boys, only wanting to adopt the cute Boniface. They join a group of other children who live on the streets of Venice, all led by the mysterious Thief Lord, a boy who gets them food, clothing, and a place to live.
Prospero's aunt hires a private investigator, and complications arise when the Thief Lord's secrets are revealed. Add that to a plot to steal something valuable and equally mysterious, and you have the outlines of quite an adventure story with elements of magical realism.
I wish I had read this as a child.
Reading it now, I had to stop myself a few times from getting distracted by plot holes (no, there really WOULD be adoption paperwork). The magical elements seemed to sneak up on the plot out of nowhere. You may like that, you may not. It was a little jarring to me, but okay.
I am simply not in the target demographic for this book, simple as that.
Had I been, I would have loved this book.
As it is, I still enjoyed it.
It made me want to slip away back to Venice. That was why I read it, and it achieved that purpose.
If you like YA and children's lit., I recommend it.
Or if you want a literary vacation to one of my favourite places in the world.
What are your experiences reading outside of your typical genre? Any books that help you revisit a loved location? Or, even better, do you have any Italy-based books to recommend to help ease my withdrawal?