FICTION

Love & Gelato

by Jenna Evans WELCH
400p. S. & S./Simon Pulse. Apr. 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481432542.
COPY ISBN
Gr 7 Up—Carolina, who prefers Lina, is learning how to cope with her mother's death from pancreatic cancer in a new city and country—Florence, Italy. Thanks to a journal left behind from her mother, Lina embarks on an adventure to discover how choices impact love, friendships, and hope. The novel is fast-paced, with plenty of grin-inducing moments. Readers might be frustrated by Lina's occasional inattentiveness to her new environment, but the writing has charm and contains generous sprinkles of Italian commands and phrases. Lina's capacity for and understanding of love transform beautifully over the course of the novel; the book is not solely about her personal romance but also other characters' interwoven love stories.
VERDICT A good addition for teens with wanderlust.
Reviewed by Briana Moore, School Library Journal
Following her mom's sudden death from pancreatic cancer, sixteen-year-old Lina moves to Tuscany to stay with the father she just learned exists. Lina's mother's journal (snippets of which are interspersed) from her own time in the region helps shape Lina's experience and sparks a little mystery. The novel's well-rendered, swoon-worthy setting adds emotional weight to the romantic subplots (both Lina's and her mother's).
 , Dec 01, 2015

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