At the turn of the century, a convoy of immigrants from a small Italian village settle in Roseto, Pennsylvania. After creating their new home (modelled almost exactly on the old home, even down to the same neighbour living next door), the community puts its heart and soul into building a new life. A generation or two later, Nella is being raised as the middle daughter of five, living on the family farm on the outskirts of town. She is lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to continue her high school education, a chance she jumps at despite the three mile trek each way, each day, because Nella is full of her own dreams and aspirations.

Amidst a flurry of weddings and the promise of a future education, poet Renato enters teenage Nella’s life at exactly the moment to capture her heart and fulfil her romantic yearnings: “How many times did I make Miss Stoddard tell the love story of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett? How Robert insisted Elizabeth leave her oppressive father, elope with him and go to Italy. I wonder if Renato has found his Elizabeth Barrett, and if he hasn't, would he wait for me?"” Immediately, she has fallen under his spell.

However, a catalogue of family disasters worries at Nella’s faith. When her father suffers a serious injury leaving him incapable of running the farm single-handedly, Nella’s education comes to an abrupt end as she takes factory work to help keep her family solvent (although she soon proves to have an impressive, progressive flair for business). Then to top things off, Renato disappears with no explanation, breaking her heart, and forcing her to finally accept the attentions of another suitor. Just as Nella finally accepts that he has gone, Renato – harbouring secret problems of his own – returns to Roseto. Will straight-talking Nella be able to forgive him? Or will her first true love haunt her to the end?

This life-affirming saga of small-town American life from the 1930s onwards follows the emotional ups and downs of Nella and her family – the births, the deaths, the marriages, the business empires failed and flourished. Trigiani’s depiction of the immigrants’ day to day lives epitomises their struggle to achieve the American Dream, but combines this with the warmth of familial ties, and a gentle love story spanning several generations. The reader is also invited to share the physical tastes and smells of Nella’s heritage through the recipes included for ‘Zia Irma’s Italian Sponge Cake’ and ‘Mama’s Wedding Cookies’! Fans of award-winning Adriana Trigiani’s ‘Lucia, Lucia’ and her equally well-received ‘Big Stone Gap’ trilogy will not be disappointed.

Trigiani's previous novels have all been well-received and I have friends who love them. For me, though, I wasn't blown away. The writing was a little bland, and there were no surprises in the story. Someone died, someone was born, someone got married, someone got a new job. It was all just a little bit too easy. Okay, they cried a little here and there, argued sometimes; but the characters just didn't convince me as 'real' people. It's a gentle, easy read, though, and I can see how people could appreciate it as an unchallenging read if they were just looking for a bit of escapism. This is essentially historical chick-lit.

Have passed on to a friend at work who will probably appreciate it more than I did.

I was registering books just now and when I went to put the BCID label inside this one, I found it was already registered! And has travelled a great many miles to get to me.

There were no BookCrossing labels on the outside so I didn't realize until I almost slapped a new label inside, then saw the original one, and caught myself just in time.

Reserved for the May 2018 Royalty Challenge, hosted by AlterEgoZoe.

Released at the Flatbread Company OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone), 72 Commercial St, Portland, Maine USA, around 2 PM on May 19, 2018.

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