Wasserman, Robin.
2012. THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW. New York, NY: Knopf. ISBN 9780375868764.
[Suggested Grade Levels 8-12]
REVIEW
Nora, a high school
senior, joins her friend and his roommate Max to work with “The Hoff,” a
professor who is at the end of his career. Her assigned job seems unimportant,
translating the letters of a 16th century woman who was the daughter
of an alchemist. Chris and Max have been assigned a more important translations
in an effort to find information about a mysterious 16th century
Vynich Manuscript which is the professor’s obsession. Max and Nora begin to
date and when Chris is murdered, Max is the prime suspect. Nora suspects that a
mysterious secret society, the Lumen Dei, is to blame for the murder and in her
quest to prove Max’s innocence travels to Prague.
This fast-paced
thriller is an excellent bridge novel for those who are ready to move onto more
adult reading. The plot is complex with numerous twists and turns as Nora
explores secret societies, alchemy, and esoteric ideas and faces danger and
dangerous people. The relationships between the main characters, the acts of
madness and obsession by those who desire the knowledge contained in the
missing manuscript, the intrigue and danger work well together in a novel that
appeals on many levels.
CONNECTIONS
This is one of those
books that begs to be read by a book club. Discussion could lead into research
into conspiracy theories and secret societies. Extend the reading of the book by bringing in examples of ancient manuscripts and discuss how they are written and constructed.
RELATED BOOKS
Bray, Libba. THE
DIVNERS. ISBN 9780316126113Brown, Dan. THE DA VINCI CODE. ISBN 9780307474278
By Janet Hilbun
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