The Book of Unholy Mischief

I've enjoyed The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark, a first time author. The story is set in Venice in the Middle Ages where power and religion are very important. A young boy, Luciano, is taken off the streets by a chef in the home of a wealthy and powerful man. The chef sees potential in the boy and starts to teach him what has been passed to him from learned teachers. At this time certain knowledge means power and a reward is offered by powerful men for a book believed to hold the secrets of eternal life and also creating gold. The chef believes knowledge for its own sake is more valuable than these things and that's what he teaches Luciano. However, some knowledge is also being suppressed as it is unsettling for the powerful. This is a lovely story. 4/5