In my frequent trips around the world I have always been fascinated when encountering second- or third-generation Italians, because their grandparents' choice might have my ancestors', and each one of them might be me.
Although I saw the movie first, I fell totally in love with this book. It's about a girl searching for her identity, and we've all been there. It's about being "different" from those around you, and I've been there as long as I can remember.
The story is less streamlined than the movie's, but this makes it more real since we are in the world of teenagers, and the book's Jose is much more rebel than the movie's, which is great.
Every teenager is full of anger, and Josephine has a lot to be angry for. She manages to discover herself, and she does it not by being excessive, or by being excessively saintly: she makes it only when she stops refusing her background and understands its value, although she maintains a grain of salt throughout the whole process.
It'd be obvious to recommend this book for all girls; it should be published in all the countries Italians moved (and still move) to: think Germany, France or Belgium; think the US, think Brasil, Venezuela or Argentina, so I wish to recommend it also to all adults, male and female, as well as to grandparents, who might find a way to connect with their grandkids.
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