School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-It is 1497, and young Giacomo does chores for his master, accompanying him when needed and running errands to the merchants of Milan. He also spends much of his time making excuses to those who have commissioned the artist's work and fending off the many merchants who come trying to collect debts. With smooth words and false promises, the boy keeps them at bay-for the time being. Da Vinci has a commission for a great painting, but he will not work. Why is a mystery, but until he finishes this painting of the Last Supper, he will not be paid. Even worse, the Duke of Milan, whose temper is legendary, is getting impatient. Giacomo worries about starving, about freezing, and about dying by order of the duke or the gentlemen whom Da Vinci insults. But, mostly, he worries about his great master, whom he thinks might be his father. In the beginning of the book, he is chatty and breezy as he introduces his city and surroundings. As the book progresses, he becomes more serious, and readers can see him maturing and becoming more responsive to the atmosphere and problems around him. Grey seamlessly blends fact and research about the inventor/artist with imagination. The basic time line and characters of the story fit with what we know of Da Vinci's life. Easily readable, this novel incorporates adventure and mystery with history.-Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This exciting first novel, set in 1497 Milan, Italy, revolves around Leonardo da Vinci and the painting of his masterpiece, The Last Supper. "It's not an easy life, a servant's. You'll see," promises teenage narrator Giacomo, who knows whereof he speaks, as a servant to the Renaissance master himself. Shopkeepers continually demand payment for goods and the Duke of Milan insists that da Vinci finish the painting he's been working on for the past two years-until then he goes unpaid. Da Vinci, however, seems more interested in his notebooks and secret experiments than in painting ("Days will pass and the Master is nowhere to be found!"). Through Giacomo's often comical narrative, first-time author Grey relates the ups and downs of looking after a genius. Giacomo (who suffered a memory loss in a serious fall) does not know anything about his life before coming to reside with da Vinci. As Giacomo struggles to help the Master finish the painting, he tries to find answers to his own past (which he hopes will connect him to da Vinci) while striving to one day apprentice to the Master. Filled with humor, readers will enjoy the many descriptions of the painting of The Last Supper and of da Vinci's eccentricity. Ages 12-up. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Review
Gr. 7-10. A disoriented runaway boy, Giacomo, is taken in by Leonardo da Vinci and grows up as the great man's servant, protecting him from his creditors even as Leonardo is pressured to finish The Last Supper.0 Although part of Leonardo's life, Giacomo still has dreams of his own: to be an artist and to find the secret of his parentage (which he hopes will lead back to da Vinci). Grey cleverly takes Dickensian conventions (a sweeping saga featuring an orphaned lad seeking his fortune, who bumps up against a host of memorable characters) and resettles them during the Renaissance. A first-time author, Grey writes intelligently, but even sweeping sagas sometimes need trimming. Moreover, the book needs an author's note. There's a short bit at the end, about The Last Supper0 , but the fact and fiction about da Vinci's art, his inventions, and even his sexuality, an issue raised in the novel, need clarification. The story itself, however, is enticing, and Giacomo's yearnings about his past and future will speak to readers. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist
