The Possibilities of Sainthood
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Antonia Lucia Labella has two secrets: at fifteen, she's still waiting for her first kiss, and she wants to be a saint. An official one. Seem strange? Well, to Antonia, saints are royalty, and she wants her chance at being a princess. All her life she's kept company with these kings and queens of small favors, knowing exactly whom to pray to on every occasion. Unfortunately, the two events Antonia's prayed for seem equally unlikely to happen. It's not for lack of trying. For how long has she been hoping to gain the attention of the love of her life – the tall, dark, and so good-looking Andy Rotellini? Too long to mention. And every month for the last eight years, Antonia has sent a petition to the Vatican proposing a new patron saint and bravely offering herself for the post. So what if she's not dead?
But as Antonia learns, in matters of the heart and sainthood, things are about as straightforward as wound-up linguini, and sometimes you need to recognize the signs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fresh and funny, this debut novel introduces a 15-year-old Catholic schoolgirl who experiences typical adolescent angst but has her own way of dealing with it: Antonia regularly petitions the saints. Longing for her first kiss, she settles on St. Augustine as an intercessor ("Hark back to your wayward youth," she urges him in her Saint Diary), but when her prayer gets her more aggressive action than she bargained for, Antonia decides to fill the gap in hagiography and proposes herself as the patron saint of the first kiss. Her e-mails to the Vatican (inhabited here by a pope open to the notion of women priests, gay marriage, etc.) add flair to a coming-of-age novel already vivid for its warm portrayal of urban Italian-American family life. "My daughter looks like a puttana! What have I done to deserve this?" shrieks Antonia's widowed mother when she catches Antonia rolling up the waist of her school uniform (Antonia's list of the "Top Five Ways Italians Express Love" begins with "by being totally honest with each other, i.e., fighting"). While getting at serious issues, Freitas (author of Killing the Imposter God and a frequent contributor to PW) wins readers over with a beautifully sustained light touch. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
I LooVe This Book!!!
I got this book @ my school library and it is just sooo great! You've got to read it!
This book is nice!
I like how they mentioned, saints in the book. If only this book were a #1 best selling book, it can become a good movie to watch.