Review: Life is hard!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2013
This book was fun!Stella Bellarosa is the funniest and most heart touching book that I have read in awhile.Stella is a 13 year old girl, raised in the Little Italy of the 60's.  Her parents are loud, her father is scary and her Nonna and Nanna, just there all the time.  Every morning, Nonna comes in the kitchen, gives Nanna a very loud kiss, and puts his teeth in!Stella's best friend is Pin Pin, a young Chinese immigrant.  The two girls attend the Catholic school together and our story begins as the annual food drive is under way.  If the girls can help their class room to win, they may both win a scholarship to Regis Academy, a girls school far away in the Catskills!Everything is going along fine, until Pin reminds Stella that her little sister's birthday is coming up.  Audrey will be two, three by Chinese standards, and Pin absolutely has to get her a birthday gift.  So, she steals a teacher's wallet.The comedy of errors that follows is nothing short of hilarious.  Julie Krantz manages to get into the mind of a thirteen year old girl, with all of the world ending thoughts and ideas that are going on in there.  Loyalty, love, friendship and the absolute certainty that her parents will kill her if they find out.I enjoyed every bit of this book and would highly recommend it.