Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at Prefect Academy, an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far faraway from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in what seems to be the sherbet-coloured-sweater capital of the world. Ick. There's no way Viola's going to survive the year - especially since she has to replace her BFFAA (best friend forever and always) Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to likebeing at Prefect. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera. But boarding school, her roommates and even Indiana, are nothing like Viola thought they would be, and she soon realises that she may be in for the most incredible year of her life. But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.
Viola Chesterton is back home in her native New York after a year in the Middle-of-Nowhere at boarding school. All Viola wants to do is spend the summer doing with her best friends, Andrew and Caitlin. But she should know by now that things don't always go according to plan and, with Andrew being shipped off to summer camp by his parents and Caitlin swept up in her first real romance, Viola finds herself feeling lonely in her home town for the first time. Once again Viola turns to her love of film and theatre for solace as she helps out backstage at the Broadway show. And when she persuades her roommates from the Prefect Academy to come to New York for the opening night, things finally start to look up for Viola. Seeing her friends again makes Viola realise just how much she's missed them over the summer, and when they leave again to head back to school Viola makes a decision that shocks everyone - including herself - she wants to go back to Prefect too...
As devoted readers of Adriana Trigiani's New York Times bestselling novels know, this "seemingly effortless storyteller" (Boston Globe) frequently draws inspiration from her own family history, in particular from the lives of her two remarkable grandmothers, Lucia Spada Bonicelli (Lucy) and Yolanda Perin Trigiani (Viola). In Don't Sing at the Table, she reveals how her grandmothers' simple values have shaped her own life, sharing the experiences, humor, and wisdom of her beloved mentors to delight readers of all ages. Trigiani visits the past to seek answers to the essential questions that define the challenges women face today at work and at home. Don't Sing at the Table is a primer, grandmother to granddaughter, filled with everyday wisdom and life lessons handed down with care and built to last.
New York Times bestselling adult novelist Adriana Trigiani and beloved illustrator Amy June Bates team up for a heartwarming picture book about a how a family comes together to celebrate Valentine's Day. Mia Valentina Amore loves valentines. After all, her name means My Valentine. When she wakes up on Valentine's Day, it looks like just another morning in the rickety old Amore house in the Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia. But over the course of the day, her home is transformed into the House of Love. Mia and her mama festoon the halls, build a gumdrop tree, bake cupcakes, and most importantly, make valentines for all six of her siblings. But when Mia doesn't receive her own valentine, she wonders if Mama could have forgotten her. New York Times bestselling novelist and filmmaker Adriana Trigiani has crafted a tender mother-daughter story that celebrates Valentine's Day or any day that brings family together. And acclaimed illustrator Amy June Bates brings warmth and coziness to a story that affirms it doesn't matter where you come from as long as that place is full of love.
From the bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife, a Richard and Judy Book Club pick One unforgettable woman. One heart and dream as big as New York City. Makers of custom wedding shoes since 1903, the Angelini Shoe Company is one of the last family businesses in Greenwich Village. Now on the brink of financial ruin, thirty-three year old Valentine Roncalli, the talented apprentice, and her grandmother Teodora, the master artisan, are trying to bring the family’s old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century. Juggling a romantic relationship with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family and a design competition for a prestigious department store, Valentine accompanies her grandmother to Italy in the hope of finding inspiration. Sweeping from the streets of Manhattan to picturesque Tuscany and the Isle of Capri, she discovers her artistic voice and so much more, turning her life around in ways she never expected. ‘Charming, charismatic and addictive… an absolute treat’ Company ‘A funny, heart-warming tale of a woman looking for love, family harmony and the perfect shoe’ Heat ‘Load up on cappuccino and biscotti before getting lost in the super froth of Adriana Trigiani's romance-soaked novel, Very Valentine’ Marie Claire ‘This hymn to Italian New York is a treat’ Elle ‘Sex and the City meets Moonstruck... sly, sensual and dripping in style’ People ‘Like tucking into a plate of homemade manicotti: irresistible and delicious’ BookPage
New York Times Bestseller • People’s Book of the Week “A heartfelt tale of love too stubborn to surrender to human frailties." — Kirkus Reviews Set in the lush Big Band era of the 1940s, this spellbinding saga from beloved New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani tells the story of two talented working class kids who marry and become a successful singing act, until time, temptation, and the responsibilities of home and family derail their dreams. Shortly before World War II, Chi Chi Donatelli and Saverio Armandonada meet one summer on the Jersey shore and fall in love. Both are talented, and dream of becoming singers for the legendary orchestras of the time: Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman. They’re soon married, and it isn’t long before Chiara and Tony find that their careers are on the way up as they navigate the glamorous worlds of night clubs, radio, and television. All goes well until it becomes clear that they must make a choice: Which of them will put their ambitions aside to raise a family and which will pursue a career? And how will they cope with the impact that decision has on their lives and their marriage? From the Jersey shore to Las Vegas to Hollywood, and the dance halls in between, this story is vivid with historical color and steeped in the popular music that serves as its score. Tony’s Wife is a magnificent epic of life in a traditional Italian family undergoing seismic change in a fast paced, modern world. Filled with vivid, funny, and unforgettable characters, this richly human story showcases Adriana Trigiani’s gifts as a storyteller and her deep understanding of family, love, and the pursuit of a dream.
Read the book Pat Conroy called “the best Italian cookbook ever written by women from the American South,” now revised and updated with even more mouthwatering recipes and photographs. Cooking with My Sisters, by New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani and her sister Mary Yolanda Trigiani, gives you a seat at the Trigiani and Bonicelli family tables. Featuring over eighty family recipes, some more than 150 years old, from Bari, the Veneto, the Italian Alps and their American hometown Big Stone Gap, Virginia, accompanied by family stories told with heart and gusto, Cooking with My Sisters is a book to treasure. This warm, engaging, and easy-to-follow book will introduce both new and seasoned cooks to dishes including Penne Alla Roseto, Happy IBM (Italian-by-Marriage) Husband Salad, and the Tipsy Lady from Flicksville’s Ice Box Cake, all the while sharing stories and insights from family members like Grandmom Viola Trigiani, who was known to write her recipes in code to guard her culinary secrets closely, and Grandma Lucy Bonicelli, a soft-spoken woman who believed the dinner table was a respite and not a place to argue. Cooking with My Sisters will inspire readers to try delectable, memorable dishes as they peer into the window of a home where the kitchen table was the center of the action, guests became family, and relationships were celebrated. As Rachael Ray says, “This collection fills the heart as full as the stomach! Mangia, y’all!”
‘This book will give even the greyest of Mondays a sheen of glamour’ Heat THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Los Angeles, 1935. Loretta Young meets Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he's already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly. Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent. Becoming Loretta's secretary, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, Alda and Loretta forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty. But it will be put to the test when they face the greatest obstacle of their lives. As thrilling and beguiling as Hollywood itself, All the Stars in the Heavens brings together a magnificent cast of characters, real and imagined, in the rich landscape of Hollywood’s Golden Age, where artisans flocked to pursue the ultimate dream: to tell stories on the silver screen. ‘Impossible to put down’ OK! ‘The characters are glamorous yet believable and the plot rattles along at a satisfying pace. Suffice to say, your reviewer sat up until the early hours of the morning to finish it because she couldn't put it down!’ My Weekly ‘Trigiani re-creates the golden age of Hollywood with the same rich, sumptuous detail that distinguished The Shoemaker's Wife. Her ability to breathe life into the luminous cast of characters will captivate readers, then have them scouring Netflix for film classics of the 1930s. A tinsel-trimmed treat’ Library Journal ‘Trigiani spins a tale of star-crossed lovers... A heartwarming tale of women's lives behind the movies’ Kirkus Reviews ‘A thoroughly entertaining tale that brings Hollywood's golden age alive’ People
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "[An] immersive saga. . . . A celebration of family and a paean to the power of storytelling.”—People, "Book of the Week" "Trigiani conveys the beauty of Italy, the hardships of war, the taste of family recipes, and the enduring love of family."—Library Journal (starred) “The beauty of any book by Adriana Trigiani is her ability to interweave life and fiction. . . . Don’t miss your chance to take this unforgettable journey with the Cabrelli women!” —Lisa Wingate, Book of the Month From “a master of visual and palpable detail” (The Washington Post), comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, The Good Left Undone unfolds in breathtaking turns. Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret with her family about her own mother’s great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew. . . . In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.
