Hello bookworms! Welcome back to another blog, with another book suggestion. This month, as we are now going into summer, I thought I would choose one of my all-time favourite books Love and Gelato, which, I feel, is one of the best summer reads, for both when you’re free and busy.
Love and Gelato follows the summer of a girl called Lina, who spends the summer it Tuscany (Italy), fulfilling her mother’s wish that she should get to know her father. When her mother died, she left her a diary, which Lina uses to uncover secrets about her mother, as well as things such as hidden bakeries, art and romance. If the fact that they find hidden bakeries doesn’t interest you, then I have no idea what will.
The story is a singular narrative written in first person, showing a direct account of all that Lina is feeling and allowing a connection between author and reader. It also means that you don’t always see what is coming, as well as alternatively noticing a change that the character doesn’t see. The narrative is broken up by her mother’s diary entries, allowing us to experience the new found knowledge and what occurs because of this. The diary is also set in Tuscany, so you get to see the area from two different times and views.
The chapters aren’t too long, roughly 10/15 pages each. Normally, I might find this a problem, but the chapters went quite fast whilst reading and before you know it, you’ve read a few and an hour’s gone by! The diary entries really help to break this up and also offer a point to stop if you’re halfway through a chapter and need to quickly stop.
Lina is a character who is very shaped by her past experiences, and you can see this throughout the actions she takes. However, I wouldn’t call her a complicated character: it is very easy to understand what she is feeling and going through even if you haven’t experienced exactly the same situation. She becomes more like an old friend by the end of the story: the casualness in the writing makes her seem realistic and real to a reader.
Overall, of course I would recommend this book. It is a light summer read, that can take a few days in the sun or even a few moths (depending of your schedule). If you like romances, this is a great one for you, especially in a time where we don’t all have the opportunity to experience another country other than our own: why travel to Italy when you can read about it in a book?
So, there’s my review for Love and Gelato! I hope you like it 😊. Don’t forget if you have a review you want to share about a book, you can send them in to us – here is a link with more details: https://www.girlguidinglaser.org.uk/challenges/report-for-the-hive.
Happy reading and I will see you next month!