Book Review - The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

Have you ever felt like a book was calling out to you? "Read meee.. Read meeee!" Anyway, this book that intrigued me at first, then there was an interview with the author in a magazine I was reading, and then another article, and then, even though I had a huge stack of books that I HAD TO READ sitting on my desk at home, I checked this one out anyway on Friday. Guess what I spent all weekend reading? This book!

Antonia Lucia Labelle isn't your average teenager. For one, she lives above an Italian food store renowned for its homemade pasta, smack dab in the middle of Providence's Federal Hill. Two, her father died when she was young, and her mom's been overprotective ever since. Oh and three, every month she writes letters to the Pope suggesting new saints. The thing is that Antonia wants to be the first living saint (she's also obsessed with saints). The patron saint of fig trees, or first kisses, it's always changing. There's one particular guy with whom she really wants to share her first kiss: Andy Rotellini. But... she barely knows him.

You know who's not going to be her first kiss? This guy, her "friend" Michael. All signs point to him being obsessed with her, but Antonia's not falling for it. Sure, he climbs up the fire escape into her room some nights, and they maybe had a thing a couple summers ago, but come on, he's Michael McGinnis, the guy that every girl at her all-girls Catholic school has made out with. Still, when Andy gets a job at her family's store, things take a turn for the interesting... and I am so not telling you who she gets her first kiss from, but you can bet it happens.

This debut novel from Donna Freitas, a Boston University college professor, is a gem. Antonia reminded me a bit of Mia Thermopolis, which isn't a bad thing in my book. Antonia feels things deeply - she's Italian, afterall - and she's not afraid to write rather detailed, personal types of letters to the Pope. I cracked up at points reading this book, and can't wait to read more from this new author.

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Four Stars (out of Five)

Recommended for: anyone with an appetite for Italian food, fans of The Princess Diaries series or any Meg Cabot, anyone who wants a good "first kiss" story