A review by jennybeastie
The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher

4.0

Like reading a biography of Mozart where magicians come out to play. Nicolo Zen is a recently orphaned venetian boy whose only possession is a magical clarinet that only he can play. After disguising himself as a girl in order to join an orchestra made of up of orphans, his adventures really begin. The kind of off-kilter, slightly sinister magic you might remember from The Night Circus, but also a compelling portrait of Venice and Vienna in the early 18th century.