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A review by sage5357
Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst
4.0
3.5 stars. I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I LOVED IT, LOVED ITALY, felt like I was living vicariously, I want to buy it for my mom and Grammie to read etc.
On the other hand, 2 of the 3 main characters (Francesca and Allegra) really annoyed the shit out of me, honestly. Firstly, Francesca and her bullshit priorities and general workaholic everything. HATED that. Very irritating. I felt like Ron in Harry Potter: “she needs to sort out her priorities!” Allegra didn’t annoy me as much, but still, the way she talked to her mother sometimes was just....my parents wouldn’t stand for any of that nonsense! And also, SHE WAS SO BUTT HURT ABOUT GOING TO ITALY IN THE FIRST PLACE. Can you believe. Like, girl, you just got ARRESTED and instead of your mom grounding you for the rest of your life, you’re going on a once in a lifetime trip to freaking ITALY. Be more grateful, ffs!!!
I did love the general storyline though, the three generations of women, healing their broken relationships through a magical trip to Italy. Especially in these times, when international travel (or travel of any kind) seems very far away, I was genuinely grateful to live vicariously through this book. Also THANK GOD re: Sophia at the end, I was FREAKING OUT thinking she was going to die!!!! Girl, go to Paris with Milton!!!
This line really resonated with me: “Even though the bus rides were endless, and we’d packed and repacked a million times, and the heat sank into our skin like a slow burn, bringing bone-weary exhaustion that staggered me, Italy charmed, seduced, and demanded to be loved back. And I did.”
I also especially liked this book because it brought back memories of my own Italian tour with my mother, grandmother, and sister, when my sister and I were 13. My Grammie had started saving when my siblings and I were born, and once my mom realized she was actually serious about taking my sister and I, she invited herself because “my teenagers aren’t going to Italy before I do!” And much like this book, it was absolute MAGIC. We went to Rome and Venice, like in the book, and had a crazy dinner party in Florence (too much dancing = slightly injured Grammie!) and were allowed to have a sip of wine and limoncello. It was a great walk down memory lane, as much as I wish my memories were crisper and it wasn’t (literally) half a lifetime away.
On the other hand, 2 of the 3 main characters (Francesca and Allegra) really annoyed the shit out of me, honestly. Firstly, Francesca and her bullshit priorities and general workaholic everything. HATED that. Very irritating. I felt like Ron in Harry Potter: “she needs to sort out her priorities!” Allegra didn’t annoy me as much, but still, the way she talked to her mother sometimes was just....my parents wouldn’t stand for any of that nonsense! And also, SHE WAS SO BUTT HURT ABOUT GOING TO ITALY IN THE FIRST PLACE. Can you believe. Like, girl, you just got ARRESTED and instead of your mom grounding you for the rest of your life, you’re going on a once in a lifetime trip to freaking ITALY. Be more grateful, ffs!!!
I did love the general storyline though, the three generations of women, healing their broken relationships through a magical trip to Italy. Especially in these times, when international travel (or travel of any kind) seems very far away, I was genuinely grateful to live vicariously through this book. Also THANK GOD re: Sophia at the end, I was FREAKING OUT thinking she was going to die!!!! Girl, go to Paris with Milton!!!
This line really resonated with me: “Even though the bus rides were endless, and we’d packed and repacked a million times, and the heat sank into our skin like a slow burn, bringing bone-weary exhaustion that staggered me, Italy charmed, seduced, and demanded to be loved back. And I did.”
I also especially liked this book because it brought back memories of my own Italian tour with my mother, grandmother, and sister, when my sister and I were 13. My Grammie had started saving when my siblings and I were born, and once my mom realized she was actually serious about taking my sister and I, she invited herself because “my teenagers aren’t going to Italy before I do!” And much like this book, it was absolute MAGIC. We went to Rome and Venice, like in the book, and had a crazy dinner party in Florence (too much dancing = slightly injured Grammie!) and were allowed to have a sip of wine and limoncello. It was a great walk down memory lane, as much as I wish my memories were crisper and it wasn’t (literally) half a lifetime away.