Not quite my style as it feels like not enough happens to keep me reading (I admit I skimmed through most of it) but very well-researched in Leonardo Da Vinci's life and times. ( )

Giaccomo, orphan and servant to Leonardo, is too smart for his own good and quick to defend his Master against all outsiders. Leonardo has delayed work on The Last Supper for two years, harried by growing debt because the Duke of Milan is always slow to pay what is owed to him, so that he can pay his creditors in turn.

Giacomo is the one to come up with an idea which will make them solvent and able to buy food again. Only near the end of the book does Leonardo reveal to his servant while he has delayed his work for so long. ( )

An insight into the world of Leonardo da Vinci through his fictional servant Giacomo. The book is fast paced, a good adventure as well as an easy read despite its length. ( )

It is Renaissance Milan, 1497, and fifteen-year-old Giacomo, servant to Leonardo da Vinci, spends much of his time making excuses to those who have commissioned the artist's work and fending off the creditors trying to collect their debts. Giacomo was taken in by da Vinci after a fever robbed him of his memory. He dreams of finding his parents and becoming a painter himself. Da Vinci is delaying the start of ‘The Last Supper’ to be painted on the wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie, but instead spends his time on other projects. Why he will not work on the painting is a mystery and the Duke of Milan is becoming more impatient by the day. This is an intelligent read peppered with lots of historic detail. It’s good to know the story behind the painter and his great masterpiece and the authors’ sardonic turns of phrase are well done. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Leonardo da Vinci hasn't worked on the fresco of the Last Supper in two years. His supporters are most unhappy with his progress. Payments for da Vinci have stopped, but that does not stop the da Vinci household from running up debts all over town.

The shopkeepers are starting to refuse more credit on his accounts.

The Duke of Milan and da Vinci have a history of playful disagreements. However, the Duke makes no secret that he's asked the rival artist Michaelangelo to town. With threats at his doorstep and the Pope coming to the chapel in the near future, da Vinci gets to work.

LEONARDO'S SHADOW shares the story of the creation of the Last Supper through the eyes of da Vinci's servant, Giacomo. Grey spins a wonderful tale of historical fiction for anyone who's interested in the Italian Renaissance. ( )