Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii

by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Overview

When your world blows apart, what will you hold onto?

TAG is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom.LUCIA is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air. . . . When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them -- to Lucia's father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos to come. Will they be able to find each other again before the volcano destroys their whole world?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545509947
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/27/2014
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Vicky Alvear Shecter is the author of CLEOPATRA'S MOON, the winner of the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and three nonfiction books for young readers, most recently ANUBIS SPEAKS! A GUIDE TO THE AFTERLIFE BY THE EGYPTIAN GOD OF THE DEAD. A docent in the Ancient History department of the Carlos Museum of Art, she lives near Atlanta, Georgia. Please visit her website at www.vickyalvearshecter.com or follow her on Twitter at @valvearshecter.

Read an Excerpt

The world had gone silent. The dogs that had been howling moments before had quieted. Even the ragged chickens in the streets had stopped their infernal clucking and squawking. Her sandaled feet slapping on the cobblestones and her rapid breaths sounded unnaturally loud.Then a boom erupted around her, through her — in her — with such ferocity she fell to the ground in a crouch, covering her ears. The force of the explosion rattled her teeth and bones. She felt a blast of sudden heat, like someone had opened an immense kiln in her face.As if in a dream, she watched the cobblestone street ripple at the top of the lane, then hurtle toward her like an ocean wave.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—Lucia, the daughter of Titurius of Pompeii, is doomed to marry a rich old man to secure money for her father's gladiatorial school. As the wedding approaches, she falls into forbidden love with Tag, the family's medical slave. The two eventually plan to run away together, but many factors interfere. Lucky for them, Mount Vesuvius throws the city into chaos by erupting, providing the young lovers a perfect chance to escape. Unfortunately, Titurius manages to follow them, with tragic results. The novel illuminates many historical details of first-century Pompeii, such as that the law allowed fathers to abandon unwanted infants outside the city gates; that an 18-hour ash eruption preceded Vesuvius's killer explosion; and that, as private property, most gladiators in Pompeii's stadium received careful medical attention. The well-researched historical setting is the strongest aspect of the novel and may keep many readers hooked. Unfortunately, the ambitious web of relationships among slaves, citizens, parents, friends, lovers, and children does not always resonate with sufficient intensity—nor does the city's final devastation. Good for die-hard historical fiction fans.—Denise Ryan, Middlesex Middle School, Darien, CT

School Library Journal

Praise for Cleopatra's Moon:An Entertainment Weekly "Must List" Pick"Absorbing … Cleopatra Selene becomes a woman with a tenacity and heart that would have made her famous mother proud." – The Wall Street Journal"The novel's atmospheric setting and romantic intrigue are highly memorable." — Publisher's Weekly"A fascinating take on a neglected historical figure." — Booklist

From the Publisher

Convincing performances by Marisol Ramirez and Zach Villa make listeners care about Tag, the medical slave, and Lucia, the aristocratic daughter of his brutal master. Their forbidden teenage romance blossoms in the shadow of the inevitable eruption of Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii. Speaking in alternating chapters as the would-be lovers, Ramirez sounds bright and intelligent as Lucia, while Villa’s Tag sounds noble and brave. Listeners will want to know how (or whether) the couple escapes the fury of the mountain, even as the countdown to disaster continues. While the writing in the final scenes (the destruction of Pompeii) proves more fizzle than fire, well-developed characters, careful period research, and two appealing narrations make this worthwhile listening for older teens. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2014 - AudioFile

Convincing performances by Marisol Ramirez and Zach Villa make listeners care about Tag, the medical slave, and Lucia, the aristocratic daughter of his brutal master. Their forbidden teenage romance blossoms in the shadow of the inevitable eruption of Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii. Speaking in alternating chapters as the would-be lovers, Ramirez sounds bright and intelligent as Lucia, while Villa’s Tag sounds noble and brave. Listeners will want to know how (or whether) the couple escapes the fury of the mountain, even as the countdown to disaster continues. While the writing in the final scenes (the destruction of Pompeii) proves more fizzle than fire, well-developed characters, careful period research, and two appealing narrations make this worthwhile listening for older teens. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2014 - AudioFile

2014-03-12
An impossible forbidden love in ancient Pompeii delivers history to romance fans. Sixteen-year-old Lucia dreads her upcoming marriage to a rich old man chosen for her by her father, the owner of Pompeii's least prestigious gladiator school. When she learns that Tag, one of her father's slaves, has returned from Rome, she fondly recalls playing together as children. When the two meet, true love blossoms. Can they keep their romance a secret while Lucia tries to escape the awful marriage? Can they actually get away from Pompeii and have a real life together? The standard romance plot widens with Lucia's passion for natural history and her hope to meet her hero, the naturalist Pliny. Tag hopes to become a gladiator and win his freedom, but he also finds himself drawn to continue in his ailing father's profession as a medical slave. Meanwhile, Lucia notices abundant small earthquakes and strange natural disturbances….The eruption engenders considerable tension as the lovers try to escape. Although the romance seems highly improbable, Shecter tempers the implausibility by giving Tag's enslaved family a noble Etruscan background. Aside from the romance, the book's focus on daily life in ancient Pompeii rings true. Their firm belief in various gods and goddesses and other superstitions comes across strongly, as does the author's examination of slavery in ancient times. Romance with benefits. (Historical romance. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews