An Italian Adventure, paperback (The Italian Saga, Vol. 1)

Secrets, friendship, and self-discovery in 1980s Northern Italy.

“An adult magazine at eight?!”

Lee (Leda Balni) is a tomboy whose carefully ordered world is shaken on the eve of her First Confession. When her nemesis, a Sicilian transplant named Nico, shares the startling discovery of an adult magazine, a firestorm of shame triggers questions about an identity Leda doesn't yet have a name for. And how is she going to confess seeing pornography to a priest—at 8?!

As fate forces these two outcasts together, fierce antagonism slowly tempers into a rare kinship forged in the mirroring of each other’s darkness. Together, they fight to uncover their own truths in a cultural landscape defined by silence, rigid tradition, and hypocrisy.

"Nonbinary Anne of Green Gables meets the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."

Why Readers Love the Italian Saga:

• 80s NOSTALGIA: A vivid, immersive trip to Northern Italy during a decade of transition and analog secrets.
• ENEMIES TO KINSHIP: A poignant exploration of how two outsiders find a chosen family in the most unlikely of places.
• AUTHENTIC "OWN VOICES": A deeply personal and amusing dive into queer history and Italian culture from author Gaia B. Amman, Ph.D.

"An astute... lighthearted but affecting narrative of childhood’s many changes." — Kirkus Reviews

Product Details:

• Format: Paperback
• Series: Volume 1 of The Italian Saga.
• Themes: LGBTQ+ History, 80s Nostalgia, Coming-of-Age, Nonbinary Identity.

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