Flirting in Italian (edition 2012)

When Violet discovers an uncanny resemblance to a girl in a portrait painted in the 1700s, she’s intrigued. She’s never felt like her dark looks fit in with her Norse family’s, and she wonders if the key to her ancestry is the painting. When she disovers the painting resides in a castle in Italy, she manages to convince her mom to send her there for the summer. At a boarding school with a summer program focusing on Italian food, language, and art history, Violet makes friends, has adventures, and maybe falls in love with the charming but maddening Luca.

Lauren Henderson’s Flirting in Italian has an interesting enough premise that should have carried the novel through to is conclusion with little problem. There’s enough of a market out there for wanderlust stories like this one, and adding in the mystery of Violet’s ancestry along with a healthy dose of cute, flirtatious Italian boys should make this a frothy read perfect for summer. Unfortunately, this one falls short in almost every conceivable way.

To start with, nothing about the novel ever completely gels. It takes much too long for Violet to develop as a character (and some readers will be so over her waffling about Luca, about her possible ancestry, and about pretty much every decision she’s made they won’t even care). The rest of the girls in the summer program are virtually indistinguishable from one another despite being from different places and of different ethnicities. The boys are flirtatious, but that seems to be their only defining trait: they’re about as deep as a kiddie pool.

Adding insult to serious injury is the fact that the book starts out charming and somehow manages to lose its mojo about a third of the way through. As Violet becomes more ensconced in Italian life, the book takes on a rambling, aimless tone and doesn’t seem to ever allow a story to unfold. It ends up being quite boring, with not enough happening until the last minute (and then the events that occur stretch credulity).

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book is its completely unnecessary cliffhanger ending. If ever there were a case for a standalone novel, this is it. For a book that’s over 300 pages, there was no reason to continue Violet’s story. Readers who were holding out for some answers to Violet’s parentage are going to be sorely disappointed–or downright irritated, as this reader was. While it might hold some appeal for younger readers looking for a slightly silly summer romance, it’s not going to work for most savvy YA readers.

Flirting in Italian is out now, but I’d say it’s okay to skip it.

Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson. Random House Children’s Books: 2012. Electronic galley accepted for review via NetGalley. ( )

All of the characters in this seem obsessed with boys, to the point where it starts to feel like it's all they care about. None of the characters seem happy without boys around, and every time a new male character is introduced, his appearance and level of attractiveness is analyzed in detail by the narrator. There are also long passages that compare Italian boys favorably to English boys. Apparently Italian boys are a lot more confident - unlike those silly English boys, they are totally eager to compliment a girl's appearance (whether or not she wants their opinion), and they're willing to fight off their friends to get the girl they want. Oh, and they don't let a fear of being slapped stop them from doing romantic stuff.

Also, while there were some sort-of friendships between the female characters, they still viewed each other as the boy-hunting "competition" and were sometimes distrustful or even enemies as a result.

That's pretty much all I have to say about this book. ( )

It’s just not summer if you don’t read at least one one book (1) about a Summer Romance, (2) with a Clever Main Character, and (3) an Exotic Setting. Flirting in Italian satisfies all three criteria.
Violet is off to Italy, seeking to find out more information about a painting of a girl that looks remarkably like herself. She is ostensibly there for a summer study course, staying in a villa with three other students, but hoping to discover more about the subject of the painting said to be from a family living in a nearby villa.
Handsome Italian boys…yummy Italian food and wine…the mystery of the curious girl in the painting…and even a poisoning…what more could you ask for in a summer teen read?
I was a little annoyed to find that the book is only available (as of yet) in hardback (it screams to be a paperback beach read) and that the book ends without resolving the question of the odd resemblance of Violet to the girl in the painting (requiring one to read yet another very, very light teen read next summer, I presume.) ( )

When I picked this one up, I was expecting a light contemporary romance. I was hoping for that anyway. I was in the mood for a really good contemporary — something totally different from all of the paranormal/dystopian stuff I’ve been reading lately.

The book begins on a positive note with our main character, Violet, traveling to Italy to study for the summer. Well, to study and to investigate a painting that she saw hanging in a gallery. The girl depicted in the painting was a dead-ringer for Violet and she felt that heading to Tuscany to do a little investigating might reveal the secret behind who that girl really is and why she looks so much like Violet.
The story felt very disjointed. As I mentioned earlier, I picked up the book expecting more of a light, fun, contemporary romance with maybe a little mystery thrown in. After the first chapter, I start to think that maybe I’m going to get more mystery than light-romance, but then the mystery of the painting is just kind of tossed to the side for a while when the story shifts back into contemporary mode (minus the light and airy tone I’d originally hoped for). It left me scratching my head.

Violet is likable enough, but I never really connected with her. I definitely wasn’t a fan of Luca, the main love interest in the book. He was very inconsistent, and there were times when I wanted to give Violet a swift kick in the ass to wake her up. I don’t know why she felt she needed to take his crap. He was so hot and cold it was maddening. The ending also seemed to come out of nowhere. I know there is a sequel, but I’m not sure I care enough about the characters or the story to come back for more.
The good thing about the book is that Ms. Henderson’s prose is fluid and enjoyable. Her descriptions of Tuscany are very rich and vivid. I just wish I’d been more invested in the story. ( )

When I picked this one up, I was expecting a light contemporary romance. I was hoping for that anyway. I was in the mood for a really good contemporary — something totally different from all of the paranormal/dystopian stuff I’ve been reading lately.
The book begins on a positive note with our main character, Violet, traveling to Italy to study for the summer. Well, to study and to investigate a painting that she saw hanging in a gallery. The girl depicted in the painting was a dead-ringer for Violet and she felt that heading to Tuscany to do a little investigating might reveal the secret behind who that girl really is and why she looks so much like Violet.
The story felt very disjointed. As I mentioned earlier, I picked up the book expecting more of a light, fun, contemporary romance with maybe a little mystery thrown in. After the first chapter, I start to think that maybe I’m going to get more mystery than light-romance, but then the mystery of the painting is just kind of tossed to the side for a while when the story shifts back into contemporary mode (minus the light and airy tone I’d originally hoped for). It left me scratching my head.
Violet is likable enough, but I never really connected with her. I definitely wasn’t a fan of Luca, the main love interest in the book. He was very inconsistent, and there were times when I wanted to give Violet a swift kick in the ass to wake her up. I don’t know why she felt she needed to take his crap. He was so hot and cold it was maddening. The ending also seemed to come out of nowhere. I know there is a sequel, but I’m not sure I care enough about the characters or the story to come back for more.
The good thing about the book is that Ms. Henderson’s prose is fluid and enjoyable. Her descriptions of Tuscany are very rich and vivid. I just wish I’d been more invested in the story. ( )