Stella Mia

Spanning from the islands of Sicily to the neighborhoods of New York, a tale of mothers, daughters, love, sacrificeand choicesresounding through generations. Julia Parlatone doesn't have much to remember her Italian mother by. A grapevine that Sarina planted still flourishes in the backyard of Julia's childhood home in Astoria, Queens. And there's a song, ';Stella Mia,' she recalls her mother singingmy star, my star, you are the most beautiful staruntil the day she left three-year-old Julia behind and returned to Italy for good. Now a happily married schoolteacher, Julia tries not to dwell on a past she can't change or on a mother who chose to leave. But in an old trunk in the family basement, she discovers items that belonged to her mothera songbook, Tarot cards, a Sicilian folk costumeand a diary. Sarina writes unflinchingly of her harsh childhood and of a first, passionate love affair; of blissful months spent living in the enchanting coastal resort town of Taormina and the unspoiled Aeolian Islands north of Sicily; and the reasons she came to New York. By the diary's end, Julia knows she must track down her mother in Italy and piece together the rest of the complex, bittersweet trutha journey that, for better or worse, will change her own life forever. Praise for the writing of Rosanna Chiofalo Carissima ';What a glorious novel this is. It's a celebration of life, love and unlikely friendship through the eyes of two very different women. Yet their similarities bind them together and will endear them to readers long after the last page is turned. Bravissima for Carissima!' Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Timesbestselling author ';Fantastico! I couldnt put it down!' Lisa Ja