The Magic of Ink: Primavera

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Primavera

by Mary Jane Beaufrand

The youngest of the Pazzi children, and a girl without beauty, Flora is the forgotten one in the family. But she gardens and helps her Nonna in the kitchen and doesn’t mind. Too much. Being out of the way of politics, it’s not until the Pazzi fortune starts to dwindle that Flora begins to open her eyes to the issues around her, such as the Medici, an extremely ambitious rival family. Flora’s passage from innocent girl to indomitable young woman may be filled with danger, mystery, and murder, but small, insignificant people sometimes turn out to be the strongest and make the biggest difference. Flora—with the help of her friend Emilio—is determined to survive no matter what it takes.

I don’t feel like I can give a very accurate report because I think I would have enjoyed Primavera a lot more if I’d been in a different mood or state of mind when I began reading. It was good and entertaining, but I didn’t especially love it, and I’d definitely like to read more by Mary Jane Beaufrand, but I really don’t know what else to say; Nothing made it stand out in my mind, possibly because it had similarities to Daughter of Venice and The Falconer’s Knot and so wasn’t a hugely original setting in my mind.
Although a lot of places are rating this book for ages 9-12, I definitely would not suggest it to any nine-year-olds; there are several horrifying and bloody scenes that Flora witnesses.
For an interesting contrast, read Carolyn Meyer’s Duchessina.

Read and for my Royalty Rules Reading Challenge.

2 comments:

EmMay 1, 2008 at 7:51 PM
I read another review that made it sound bloody too. Hmm, I still might check it out.
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AnonymousMay 3, 2008 at 8:41 PM
You are both tagged! Heehee! Go to my site to read the rules.
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Thursday, May 1, 2008

Primavera

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