The White Ravens Database

Presented by   Internationale Jugendbibliothek / International Youth Library

Catalan / Spain

L’ assassina de Venècia

(The Venice assassin)

Castellanos, Pol (text)
Barcelona: Estrella Polar, 2021. – 319 p.
ISBN 978-84-1389-029-6

Venice  | History 1914  | Clairvoyance  | Journey  | Adventure

Reading age: 12+

White Ravens issue: 2022

OPAC

The plot of this second novel by Pol Castellanos, which in 2021 won the »Premi Ramon Muntaner de literatura juvenil«, is set in Venice in the year 1914. When the nearly fourteen-year-old Carla realizes that she has the power to predict misfortunes, her influential and strict father feels compelled to accuse her of witchcraft. He commits her to a reformatory, from which she and two of her friends are soon able to escape. In order to discover an explanation for Carla’s supernatural abilities, the three set off on a danger-filled journey, which takes them through several countries. Meanwhile Carla is being sought by the police, who suspect her of having committed a murder in Venice. »L’assassina de Venècia« is a gripping adventure story that skilfully blends realistic and fantasy elements against the historical background. The characterisation of the story’s figures – the three teenagers, their relationship to one another, and also the minor figures – is believable and quite vivid. [JW]