Taking Tuscany
Authors: Renée Riva
Tags: #Tuscany, #dog, #14-year-old, #vacation, #catastrophe, #culture shock
What people are saying about â¦
taking tuscany
“Taking Tuscany
is a lively ride through the Italian countryside. Life with A.J. and her Italian-American family in their inherited castle is all that an adventurous story should be. How can you go wrong with horseback-riding nuns, a mock Olympics, and a hint of amoré? Renée Riva's
Taking Tuscany
took me!”
Susanna Aughtmon,
author of
All I Need Is Jesus
and
a Good Pair of Jeans
“I've longed to spend more time with A.J. and the Degulio family since turning the last page of
Saving Sailor
.
Taking Tuscany,
the heartwarming and humorous sequel, was just what I needed. Bravo, Renée! Faith and family are everything.”
Leslie Gould,
award-winning author of four novels, including
Scrap Everything
“Renée Riva creates moving multidimensional images of everyday people who are at their worst uproariously funny, and at their best, transcendent. In a beautifully textured setting, Riva weaves them into a jubilant coming-of-age tale about the true meaning of family.
Taking Tuscany
is a celebration of the ordinary that will leave you breathless with laughter and tears.”
Sylvia Dorham,
author, essayist, and voice-over artist whose credits include Riva's
Saving Sailor
“A.J.'s fresh voice reminds us of what really matters in life as she negotiates a foreign culture, the pitfalls of friendship, and family life with humor and insight. A laugh-aloud good read!”
Maureen McQuerry,
author of
Wolfproof, Travelers' Market,
and the forthcoming
Destiny Stone
“An inspired story about a young girl coming to terms with her faith, quirky family, profound life changes, and growing up. The story is peppered with A.J.'s unique charm and sense of humor. A wonderful follow-up to
Saving Sailor.
”
Michele Kophs,
principal, Provato Events
“Fans of
Saving Sailor
will relish the further adventures of fourteen-year-old A.J. as she adjusts to life in a small, charming, but rather rundown castle in Tuscany. A warm family story with an engaging heroine accompanied by vibrant, endearing characters.”
Deborah Hopkinson,
author of
Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco
,
1906
“Bravo, Renée Riva, for writing a witty, thoughtful, and inspiring novel. Through a delicious blend of humor and penetrating honesty, spunky A.J. and her eccentric family made me laugh out loud and also brought tears to my eyes, as they grapple with prickly friends and unlovable relatives, endure life-and-death drama, and learn about God's mercy.”
Kate Lloyd,
author of
A Portrait of Marguerite
TAKING TUSCANY
Published by David C Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.
David C Cook Distribution Canada
55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5
David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications
Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England
The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,
no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form
without written permission from the publisher.
This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.
LCCN 2009922187
ISBN 978-1-4347-6777-6
eISBN 978-0-7814-0318-4
© 2009 Renée Riva
Published in association with the literary agency of
Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com
The Team: Don Pape, Jamie Chavez, Amy Kiechlin, Sarah Schultz, Jaci Schneider, Karen Athen
Cover Design: The DesignWorks Group, Jason Gabbert
Cover Photo: Shutterstock and iStockphoto
First Edition 2009
Contents
From the shores of Indian Island â¦
⦠to the Tuscan hills of Italy
2.
Il Mio Bel Castello (My Beautiful Castle)
3.
Buon Compleanno (Happy Birthday)
6.
Vascanaza al Mare (Seaside Holiday)
12.
La Principessa Dorotea (Princess Dorothy)
15.
Punto di Prospettiva (A Bit of Perspective)
17.
La Bambina Santa Fede (Little Saint Faith)
19.
Un Giorno Ventoso (One Blustery Day)
21.
Il Giorno del Ringraziamento (Thanksgiving)
AfterWords
Author's Note
Several years ago my Italian grandmother passed away and left our family an invaluable gift. Her last request was that my mom and dad and all five of us kids go visit the Old Country, her homeland. She also left us the means to do so. Being the obedient family that we were, we promptly granted her final wish: spring in Tuscany, a hilltop villa with a pool, and our family under one roof. There is something about visiting the origin of one's roots that is good for the soul. As man is made of dust, I got to see what kind of dust I was made of. Some of that dust is now sprinkled among these pages, setting the scene and breathing life into this story.
Somewhere between writing my first novel,
Saving Sailor,
and its sequel,
Taking Tuscany,
we lost our dad, Santo Benjamin. One day he was here, the next day, gone. I'm pretty sure God found him up there in heaven somewhere, but the rest of us down here are a little lost without him. You see, Santo was to my mom what Sonny was to Sophia in
Saving Sailor
âthe love of her life. And my dad was to me and my four siblings what Daddy was to A. J. and her four siblingsâour everything. To be perfectly honest, we are more than a little miffed that someone so full of life and love and laughter should be taken from us before what we considered “his time.” As far as we knew, he was planning to go snow skiing the next day, not to heaven. But who are we to question God in such matters? He did, after all, come up with the idea of people, and families, and we must give credit that He knows what He's doing with usâand sometimes we don't.
My father had a motto in life that was passed down from his father.
La famiglia è tutto.
Family is everything. And so it is. My grandmother's last words to my mom were, “Keep the family together.” And she and my father did.
From the time I was just a wee thing, toddling around the bocce ball court, the greatest blessing in my life has been belonging to our Italian family. Over the years it has been just one festive holiday after another ⦠Grandma's homemade ravioli and polenta, bocce ball tournaments, Grandpa's Wrigley's Spearmint gum.
Sadly that first generation who came over on the boat has all passed on. But their legacy lives.
Taking Tuscany
is a tribute to those who knew what mattered in life and showed us the way. I am anticipating a great reunion up yonder (as A. J. would say) one day. For now, we have been left behind to carry the torch. May God help us. Until we meet again â¦
Acknowledgments
Apart from divine intervention there are two big reasons I was given the privilege of writing this book: Beth Jusino and Don Pape. You are my heroes and, in A. J.'s book, deserve to be sainted.
My literary angel and friend, Sandi Winn, you are worth your weight in
gnocchi
(Italian potato dumplings). Thank you for your help and friendship.
Molto grazie
to my Italian wordsmiths: Immacolata Errico from Bella Italia; Conor Hogan, the Italian-speaking Irishman; and the world's best Italian chef, Nicola Calamari.
Mom, you already knew I couldn't spell, and now you know I can't type any better. Thank you for being my official proofreader, painful as it is.
My husband, Bear, um . . . I'd be a mess without you, as would be this book.
Sono innamorato pazza mente dite.
I'm crazy in love with you.
A
grandioso
thanks to my editors, Jamie Chavez and Jaci Schneider, for knowing what I meant to say ⦠and more. And to everyone at David C. Cook who helped to bring
Taking Tuscany
to the people. Y'all are like family to me ⦠or will be by the time we're done.
An
enormi
thanks to my faithful readers, especially my huge fan club: Alec Chunn and Logan Winn.
Grazie
⦠once again.
Starbucks. What can I say? You kept me awake.
Forever and foremost, Jesus, my Lord and Savior, thank You for letting me write stories. It is an honor and a privilege, and I am grateful.
Sia gloria a Dio.
To God be the glory.
From the shores of Indian Island â¦
(Excerpt from
Saving Sailor
)
Indian Lake, Idaho, July 1968
I'm sittin' in a rowboat in the middle of Indian Lake with my dog, Sailor. He's a collie-shepherd mix with one brown eye, and one that looks like a marble. He's wearin' a bright orange life jacket, as any seaworthy dog should when playing shipmate. Sometimes we pretend we're on the high seas awaitin' capture from handsome rogue pirates. But today we're just driftin'.
The oars lie on the floorboard of the wood dinghy; a slight breeze sweeps over us, rufflin' up Sailor's long fur. We're just soakin' up the sun, and floatin' by the island where our family spends our summers.
My mama is reclinin' on the dock in her new Hollywood sunglasses. She's got a paperback novel in one hand and a glass of iced tea in the other. My big sister, Adriana, is slathering on baby oil, singin' along to her transistor radio. My big brother, J. R., short for Sonny Jr., is gutting a fish over on the big rocks, while the younger twins, Benji and Dino, are still tryin' to catch their first fish of the day.
All of this is goin' on, while at the same time I'm in the middle of a conversation with God:
“⦠And so, Lord, if we get to pick what age we'll be in heaven, I choose nine years old, because I am havin' the best year of my life. I know I say that every year, but this time I mean it. And next year, if I change my mind, don't believe me. I promise it will always be nine.”
I have this feelin' deep down inside that I will never change my mind. I just don't see how it can get any better than driftin' with my dog on a sunny afternoon, goin' wherever the wind takes us â¦