Immortal by Traci L. Slatton

Immortal is the story of Luca Bastardo, a boy who is abandoned to the streets of Florence at a young age and is forced to steal in order to survive. What makes it worse is that one day he is betrayed by his friend and sold to an extremely cruel brothel owner. There Luca’s mind escapes to the frescoes at Santa Croce, while his body is forced to endure horrible things. It is also here that Luca first discovers his secret – he doesn’t age like normal people. It is only when the Black Death comes to Florence that Luca is able to engineer his escape. Once out of the brothel, Luca befriends artists and politicians alike, from Giotto and Leonardo da Vinci to the Medici’s. He also is always striving for information, both about alchemy and his parentage. However, Luca is always in danger from the family of the brothel owner and from his own ageless beauty, which draws attention to him at the height of the Inquisition. This historical fiction novel is fairly entertaining and it’s kind of neat to see all of these main historical figures in one place. That said, it’s not the best book I’ve ever read and is a bit obvious from time to time, but still was a decent way to pass an afternoon.