Wish You Were Italian

March 17, 2014
This breezy, envy-inducing romance opens the If Only series, written by multiple authors. For some reason, 17-year-old Pippa Preston is dreading spending the summer in Italy—her parents are forcing her to attend an art history program in Florence. When Pippa’s plane lands in Rome, she discovers that her father has given her an envelope full of euros, and she decides to forgo summer school in favor of sightseeing and meeting boys. A new Italian friend, Chiara, whisks Pippa off to her family’s house on the Cinque Terre, and Pippa’s charmed summer becomes even more so (especially after two boys, one American and one Italian, enter the picture). Debut author Rae’s style is upbeat and cheerful, but like Pippa, who throws caution to the wind, the story lacks direction, with choppy prose and brief chapters tugging readers this way and that. Rae uses advice from one of Pippa’s friends back home to give some structure to Pippa’s zigging and zagging, but it’s not quite enough to anchor the novel. Available simultaneously: Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard. Ages 12–up. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency.

March 15, 2014
This debut takes readers to Italy, where 17-year-old Pippa defies her parents' wishes and secretly takes off on her own. Her parents were sending her alone to an art school in Florence to learn about classical art so she could follow in her mother's footsteps and run an art gallery. But she has plenty of euros and no desire to learn about art, wanting instead to see Italy and fall in love with an Italian. In Rome, she meets Darren, an attractive American archaeology student who shows her the Colosseum. Then she meets Chiara, an Italian girl who grew up in America but who lives in the Cinque Terre, where her family has a restaurant and where she invites Pippa to join her. Pippa decides to go--without telling her parents, of course. Complication lurks in the form of Bruno, Chiara's handsome cousin, who begins to court Pippa aggressively. When Darren arrives, Pippa worries which boy she should choose: Bruno is Italian and hot hot hot, but she's still attracted to Darren. Meanwhile, her parents still think she's at school in Florence. While Rae presents an appealing character in Pippa, her evident love of Italy dominates the narrative, making the story feel like an enthusiastic travelogue. Readers will detect early on which boy Pippa will choose, but mild suspense about how that will come about should keep them engaged. Undemanding but enjoyable--an ideal beach read. (Romance. 12-18)

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May 1, 2014
Gr 7 Up-In this predictable romance, 17-year-old Pippa travels to Italy and must choose between two intriguing boys, one Italian and one American. Sent off to an art program in Florence by parents eager to be rid of her for the summer, Pippa instead decides to travel on her own. She has plenty of cash, and quickly meets Chiara, an Italian girl whose family immediately takes Pippa in and gives her a job in their seaside restaurant. Pippa soon meets Darren, an 18-year-old from Texas who is in Italy to learn about archaeology. Though she's drawn to him, she has had dreams of falling for an Italian boy-and Chiara's gorgeous cousin Bruno seems to fit the bill. Too conveniently, Darren soon shows up in the same town, and Pippa finds herself torn between the two beaus. It's all too clear which one is the better choice, despite several cliched situations that throw her together with one boy or the other. There are few barriers to true love in this novel, and Pippa's family problems come across as a distracting attempt to flesh out her character and add weight to the story. Some readers may enjoy the international setting and details about Italian culture and travel in this innocent romance. Overall, however, the quality of the writing and the forgettable characters make this a poor choice, except for the most die-hard romance readers.-"Miranda Doyle, Lake Oswego School District, OR"

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Pippa may be disappointed in her summer plans, but don't feel too bad for her just yet. Her art-gallery-owning parents have signed her up for an art-history program in Florence. By herself. With an envelope stuffed with cash. Before she leaves, Pippa's best friend Morgan gives her a bon voyage gifta journal with assignments to get Pippa out of her comfort zone. Pippa takes the assignments to heart: the first thing she does when she arrives in Italy is lie to her parents about where she is and ditch the art program to stay in Rome. Soon she finds herself caught between a gorgeous Italian bad boy with a secret, and a handsome Americano in town for his own summer program. Though it's a little unbelievable that Pippa would be so put out by a free summer-long trip to Italy, and a few characters are a touch two-dimensional, Rae's debut novel is a breezy, fluffy summer read full of dreamy romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)