Are You There God? I'm Italian

Those of you who don't know me in real life (probably) don't know that I am an Italian American. Three of my four grandparents were born in "the old country," and I grew up in a family where Sunday mass was usually followed by a pasta-and-meatballs dinner cooked by my mom or one of my grandmas.

Antonia Lucia Labella, heroine of The Possibilities of Sainthood, is an Italian Catholic to the max, and author Donna Freitas passes up no opportunity to remind the reader. Antonia's family runs an Italian market that sells her mom's homemade pasta and other delicacies. Antonia's cousins are named Francesca, Concetta and Veronica. And oh yes, Antonia wants to be a saint.

The first living saint in history, actually. She regularly writes letters to the Vatican nominating herself as the Patron Saint of Figs, the Patron Saint of Pasta-Makers, et cetera. Despite this ambition, Antonia does not want to end up like the saint she shares a name with—who just happened to die a virgin.

Antonia has her eye on Andy Rotellini, the hottest senior at Bishop Francis boys' school. (She's a sophomore at the Holy Angels girls' school.) But mini-playboy Michael McGinnis—nope, he's not Italian!—has his eye on Antonia. While innocent enough for younger readers, the ensuing story manages to be quite saucy. And even though she's kind of obsessed with saints, Antonia is totally believable as a non-fanatic, very relatable teenage girl. A sequel is in the works, and I definitely plan to read it.