A story of the most famous female painter of the Italian Renaissance, The Vanishing Point imagines the adolescence of the legendary Lavinia Fontana. Reared in the strict atmosphere of sixteenth century Bologna, “Vini” manages to persuade her painter-father to train her and in the process learns much about the quiet power of women from her mother. Part quest, part romance, and part coming of age story, this resonant novel will speak to any woman who has ever pitted her hopes against a world that feels smaller than her dreams.
The Vanishing Point
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-0618434237
Reviews
- NY Public Library’s Best Books for the Teen Age
- Bank Street College Pick
- Independent Booksellers Booksense Pick
- Best Book for Young Adults Nominee
- Wilde Award, best historical novel, Raleigh News and Observer
Fans of historical fiction will lose themselves in Hawes’ sumptuously evoked Renaissance Italy, and aspiring artists will respond to Vini’s amazement at “how full of drawings the world is.” —Booklist, ALA, Boxed Review
Hawes takes what is known of her (Lavinia Fontana, daughter of the painter Prospero Fontana) life and creates a fictionalized tale of a complicated adolescence. —Kirkus Reviews
This book is a good choice for middle school students and will appeal especially to girls who can relate to its strong, female protagonist. —VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)