Darby Mihelich// Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
Darby Mihelich
Cross My Heart
Sasha Gould
Main Characters :
Laura della Scala: 16 year old girl who suddenly leaves home because of her father
Beatrice: Laura’s older sister who died from drowning and is turned into a mystery
Laura’s father: He took Laura because he didn’t want to pay two dowries when it came time for his daughters to marry, she was sent to the convent.
Vincenzo: Beatrice’s fiance; Laura’s father intends to have her take Beatrice’s place and marry her fiancé
Segreta: a mysterious group of women who pull the strings of Venetian society.
Giacomo: He and Beatrice were secret lovers. He was the last person who seen Beatrice. Also he helped Laura
Main conflict:
Main conflict is why and how did Beatrice die? And who did it? The first important thing about this story is when she had to take over her sisters positions to marry Vincenzo. This was important because she finally found the real truth behind Vincenzo. People only saw him as a handsome, smart, young man but she found him as an evil person with many secrets. The second important thing to the story was Laura joining a secret society of Venetian women by betraying the secret of the most powerful man in Venice. This is important because Laura wanted to find answers about her sisters disappearances. She knew she she could find answers from this secret group. The third important thing about this story is how she overcame her great dangers and obstacles. She wasn’t educated like everyone because she never went to school and her father sent her away for a good period of time.
3 important quotes
“Happiness can be a cruel thing in the face of someone else's grief.” pg 59
I chose this quote because when Laura's happiness was gone ,she thought she was never going to find it again. Her sister not only drowned but it was on purpose because she was a great swimmer and very athletic. Grief had taken over because she lost her best friend and that was irreplaceable.The quote appeared when she returned back to Venice, Italy.
“God, please show me someone I can trust” pg 171
I chose this quote because this is the point where she realizes who she can and cannot trust. She’s lost everything at this point like her family and friends. All she wants is God to answer her prayer and get her through this tough moment. This quote was said when she was wearing the mask that covered her identity because during this historical moment, mask were used for plays and parties around Venice.
“It must have been his heart. Are the doctors here? I must see him again. Take me back to him” pg 152
I chose this quote because Laura realized Giacomo never lied to her and he only wanted to help her find the murderer. This quote is relevant to this historical time period because doctors were used for everything in Venice. She must see him again because she close to solving who has killed her sister.
A review of historical perspective/ 3 historically true events or characters:
One historical event in the book was taken place in Venice because of its surroundings and location. Venice has a lot of historical buildings and famous people like artist and painters. One historical thing in the book talks about is the bridges they travel. Venice is known as “City of Bridges” because they’ve been there since 400 A.D. The second historical thing in the book is Venice's canals. Venice is also known as the “City of Canals” because waterways are the only and main way to get around. It’s always been the main transportation in Italy since it was founded. The last historical and most important thing in the book is Laura’s mask that she starts to wear. The city is also known as the “City of Masks” because of the stage appearances it has. The main character Laura della Scala wears this mask because after she enters the secret group, the people realize shes here for one reason only and that’s to see Giacomo and ask questions. The mask was to hide her true identify and stay safe from the people after her like her dad and Vincenzo.
Overall success of the book:
Cross My Heart was a great book because it was easy for me to comprehended and it had a great mystery. The characters had a great background and a side of them you never would've thought. I really enjoyed this mystery books and liked how she picked a setting where its relevant for her and how she incorporated history and significant meanings about the mask, canals, and bridges. I liked how there was a mystery and romance in it. The detail on the characters and agriculture and the timing was very realistic. Overall I recommend this book for anyone.
Author's facts and statistics
Sasha Gould lived in Venice until she was nine years old. She later studied fashion in London. Her favorite things are opera, ballet and romantic movies. She now lives in the Lake District of England with her cat, Tosca, and writes about Venice, the beautiful and mysterious city she knows and loves. This is where she gets her inspiration to write her books.
Our books are very similar. They are both written about two young girls. In both of our books, there was a murder and the girls needed to figure out who did it.
ReplyDeleteAlong with your book and Carter's book, my book is similar as well. It does not involve a murder. However, it does involve a young girl and she has a goal.
ReplyDeleteMy book is also similar to yours. In the book no murder happened, but it did involve a teenage girl that faced a challenge and had to over come it.
ReplyDeleteMy book is similar to yours. In my book there was also a death that no one knew if it was an accident or if it was a murder.
ReplyDeleteOur books were similar. Both of our books involved murders, and also a woman who was involved in the murders.
ReplyDeleteOur books are very similar. They are both about a young girl and death was a big part of both of our stories.
ReplyDelete