City News

Jenna Evan Welch’s Love and Gelato tells the tale of a teenage girl named Lina who travels to Tuscany for the summer. Lina’s mother, who dies of cancer, has one last wish: for her daughter Lina to meet her father in Italy. At first, Lina despises Italy and wants to go home more than anything else. She misses her best friend and the way things used to be. But she soon receives her mother’s journal filled with tales of her adventures and secret romances in Italy. Lina reads the journal bit by bit and follows along as if her mother was right beside her, taking her on a tour. Lina’s time in Italy grows a little better each day as her mother’s journal brings her to art galleries, beautiful plazas, and secret bakeries. She meets new friends and even makes some enemies. And one day, she discovers a secret that could change her life.

The story is easy to understand and follow along. Although the plot may seem somewhat complicated at first, the author does a good job of explaining the story. Furthermore, the main character, Lina, is easy to relate to. She is not perfect and admits to her flaws, and it is interesting to see how she grows throughout the novel. Lina is very honest and open with the reader and speaks in a casual, conversational tone, which made me feel even closer to her. For instance, Lina says she, “ hated being called quiet. People always said it like it was some kind of deficiency- like just because I didn’t put everything out there right away, I was unfriendly or arrogant. My mom had understood” (Welch 30). In this quote her tone is very casual and honest. Another great part of the story was its happy tone. Although the novel touched on some deep topics, the overall tone was still quite pleasant and happy- just like the title ( Love and Gelato ). Nothing would overwhelm the reader.

Overall, I would give the book a seven out of ten. It was easy to understand the story and connect with the characters, but the book was very predictable in some aspects. Within the first few chapters, I was able to predict the “big secret” that is revealed at the end of the story- which made the ending less exciting. Furthermore, the narrator, Lina, seemed much more clueless than she should have been at her age. The “big secret” was directly in front of her, but she still cannot see it. It makes me feel as though the author dragged out Lina’s cluelessness about the secret for as long as possible just to make the story last longer. I wish Welch had spent less time trying to make the book long enough and more time coming up with even better descriptions of characters and setting. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading about how life in Italy is different from life
in America. The descriptions of the beautiful art and delicious food made me want to join Lina in Tuscany. Another thing I really enjoyed in the novel was its theme of family and the things Lina learns about her own. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a simple and sweet read.

Check out Love and Gelato at the Newport Beach Public Library.