Italia, 1502. Todo está dominado por las luchas intestinas entre las grandes dinastías y ciudades-estado, el papado de los Borgia y la incesante e impulsiva política de Cesare, Il Valentino. En este ambiente, un joven gitano llamado Matteo se arroja a un río cercano como única escapatoria ante una muerte segura. Llevado por las aguas, el chico es rescatado por varios individuos a los que capitanea un hombre mayor que se identifica como Leonardo Da Vinci, un ingeniero que trabaja a las órdenes de Cesare Borgia. Nadie sabe que el chico porta un secreto por el que las familias Borgia y Medici están dispuestas a matar y que genera una intriga durante la que el joven Matteo se irá convirtiendo en un hombre que sucumbe a la fascinante mirada del mundo que le ofrece el genio de Leonardo.

It is 1502 and a young boy is fighting for his life in a fast-flowing river. His rescuers include Leonardo da Vinci who later offers him a home and work. Matteo is the first name that sprung to the boy’s mind when he was pulled from the river, but what of his real identity and history? This book encompasses the following ten years of Matteo’s life as he works for da Vinci and witnesses the painting of frescoes and dissection of cadavers. Renaissance history is delved into with much detail, along with the Medici and Borgia families as the struggle to control Italy rages. Appropriate for older teens this book in an interesting look at the historical period with both mystery, deceit, revenge and tension woven throughout as we follow our protagonist’s journey and hope that he will survive his pursuers to learn more about the secret treasure he carries. ( )

Started off good. I kept waiting for Matteo to confide in Maestro, but no. This book ended as if there were going to be a sequel. Not quite what I had hoped for, but readable enough.

*Spoiler alert - if you've not read this book and you want to, there are some spoilers in the following review.*

I happened to see this book in passing in the library. I didn't know anything about it but I was intrigued by the title and the blurb on the back sounded reasonably interesting so I picked it up. I did wonder if it was another attempt at cashing in on the interest in Leonardo da Vinci after The Da Vinci Code but this time in a children's book. The plot seems very straightforward: boy on the run after having stolen something of value, is found by Leonardo da Vinci and hides out with his household for a while.

It starts off quite well; there's no gentle easing the reader into the story, it very much throws you into it straight away. Along with the main character really, whose first appearance is as he's falling into a river. Not long after that there's a major incident with some barbarians attacking a family that they thought were hiding the artifact that the boy had stolen. The family contains twin girls who are prepubescent and it's mentioned several times that the barbarians rape them. Although the word 'rape' is never mentioned - instead it's said that they have been violated which is a nicer way of saying the same thing - I still thought that this was not something I would have expected to find in a children's book. I don't think it was especially relevant to the plot either and there was really no need for it.

After that, the plot seems to lose its way and the remainder of the book is all about politics and war. It follows the life of the boy over the next ten or so years as he becomes a soldier and the artifact he stole is forgotten. I found it really hard to believe that he could have got away with the theft judging by how steadfastly he'd been pursued initially. Despite being a lover of history, I found the details of the politics of the time to be really long-winded and boring, and even started to skim over a lot of it. The recounting of the battles was just as bad and I was really struggling to retain any interest in the book. I found that I didn't care about any of the characters or what happened in the end.

I finally made it to the end of the book and apart from being relieved that I'd finished it, I found the ending to be so banal and clichéd that I felt cheated; I'd waded through several hundred boring pages to be greeted with such a dreadful ending. It actually made the fact that the boy had got away with his theft for such a long time even more incredulous.

All in all, this is one book to be avoided. If you want to know about Leonardo da Vinci or Italian history of that time, read non-fiction books that are about him or the history of the period. Not this book. ( )