Daughter of Venice book review

Title: Daughter of Venice


Author: Donna Jo Napoli


Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction


Plot: 
  Donata, and her twin Laura, are Venetian nobility. In Venetian nobility only the oldest son and two oldest daughter marry. The other daughters are sent to a convent to become nuns.
Donata desperately hopes that both she and her twin will find love and marry, despite the odds.
  When Donata learns that she will soon be sent to a convent she takes matters in her own hands. As she explores Venice, Donata realizes that her life is changing. She must make careful choices that will change her and her families way of life.


My thoughts:
    This book has wonderful details about Italian, in particular Venetian, culture during the Middle Ages.  The setting and time period of this book is close to that of The River of Time series.  Because of that I thought this was really interesting.


I did have a little trouble connecting with some of the characters. At times the characters seemed flat and lifeless. However, I did like the main character, Donata. She was a strong and independent young woman who was curious about the way things work.


If you are looking for a detailed book about the culture and lives of Venetians, I think you would enjoy this.








*Content* Prostitution and pre-martial sex is talked about often throughout the book ( both are seen negatively). It's hinted at that a character is promiscuous. Characters manipulate and lie to get what they want. A character dresses up as a boy and has a few rough experiences because of it.






My rating:  2