An engrossing story about a young woman taking chances to find her way after college.
A young woman follows her dreams against the backdrops of Sicily and San Francisco in Constantino’s novel.
Mariella Russo has just finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Catania in 2000. She’s lived her whole life in the Sicilian town, feeling trapped by tradition and expectations. Her volatile mother expects Mariella to marry her boyfriend Matteo, the scion of the wealthy Gamberini family, coveting the elevated social standing the match will bestow upon the Russos. Although she loves Matteo, Mariella does not want to get married, feeling that they are both “caught in the same snare of family and tradition.” Her beloved grandmother, Nonna Giuseppina, understands her restlessness, saying, “If you remain here, they’ll never leave you alone.” After a disastrous graduation party (during which she publicly defies everyone’s plans for her), Mariella secretly escapes to America. Helped by Nonna and Luisa, the owner of the travel agency where Mariella works, she is admitted to graduate school at San Francisco State University. She arrives in San Francisco to find that her roommate, Leslie, is a gay man; he becomes a good friend. Through his connections, she lands a job as a part-time hostess at a high-end Italian restaurant in North Beach. The restaurant staff provides companionship and a romantic relationship with Giovanni, the restaurant owner, who is substantially older than her. A dramatic appearance by Mamma in a bid to bring her home causes Mariella to re-examine her actions and relationships. In her debut novel, Constantino has created a forthright and bold character who owns up to her faults and grows as she matures. Mariella’s choices are skillfully put in perspective in the contexts of the Sicilian and San Francisco communities she lives in and in the backstories of Nonna, who defied tradition in the 1940s by following her heart, and Giovanni, whose unhappy marriage shows that following expectations does not always result in happiness. Readers will easily relate to this enjoyable and honest depiction of the conflicting desires and expectations faced by many people in their 20s.
An engrossing story about a young woman taking chances to find her way after college.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781647427689
Page Count: 256
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.
A recently divorced writer juggles a chaotic full house, a struggling career, and a confusing romantic life.
Lila Kennedy thought she had the perfect family—a loving mother, a doting stepfather, two wonderful daughters, and a great husband. She even wrote a self-help book about repairing a marriage, which was published a mere two weeks before her husband left her. After her own mother’s sudden death, Lila finds herself an unexpected single mom with her health-nut stepfather, Bill, for a roommate. When her long-absent actor father, Gene, moves in, things go from crowded to chaotic. When Gene isn’t talking about his memories of starring on a Star Trek–like television show, he’s starting fights with Bill. Perhaps the worst part is that Lila’s supposed to produce a new book about the unexpected direction her life has taken. She quickly finds that writing about her real-life romantic exploits (including the kind gardener Bill hired and the sexy single dad she lusts after at school pick-up) and the actual heartbreak that upended her family is easier said than done. Moyes creates a world that is believable and funny. It’s hilarious to read about the distinct characters in Lila’s life—such as her lentil-loving stepfather and egocentric biological father—interacting with each other. There’s plenty of drama here, but none of it feels forced. It all comes from flawed people doing their best to coexist and making plenty of mistakes along the way. Moyes combines the warmth of an Annabel Monaghan rom-com with the humanity of a Catherine Newman novel, creating a story that will provoke tears and laughter.
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781984879325
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
