Taking Tuscany
Subtitle: a novel
By: Renée Riva
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Colorado Springs, CO
Language: eng
Number of pages: 266
ISBN-13: 9781434767776
Subjects: Juvenile fiction; Americans; Teenage girls; Dysfunctional families; Loneliness; Homesickness; Fiction
Description: "A. J. Degulio loved the idea of a visit to the Old Country, until her family decided to stay.  Now it's 1972 and she's turning fourteen in a crumbling castle on a hill in Tuscany, wishing she were back in Idaho with her beloved dog, Sailor.  In Italy, her blonde hair makes her stick out like a vanilla wafer in a box of chocolate biscotti, and she's so lonely her best friend is a nun from the local convent. What's worse, her grandmother's losing her marbles and Mama's going crazy over Uncle Nick's ugly blue villa, which she can see from every window.  The challenges of roots and relatives are nothing new to A. J. -- you can read about the summer she turned ten in Saving Sailor -- but factor in language, culture shock, and a bad case of homesickness, and A.J.'s going to need more than the famous Degulio sense of humor to survive. Can't anyone see that Italy isn't really home? It will take a catastrophe -- and a few wise words from a friend -- for A. J. to understand that sometimes the only thing you can change is your perspective"--P. [4] of cover.
Notes: Includes AfterWords section with excerpt from Heading home, references, and the stories behind the story.

Includes bibliographical references.