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A review by mwgerard
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-lost-...
It’s 1960. Optimistic Francesca has been assigned to help the tiny mountain village of Santa Chionia. Her mother was Calabrian. She knows the language and she has the confidence of the international relief organization she is working with. She has every reason to believe, with a bit of elbow grease and little persuasion, she will be able to open a daycare center and kindergarten.
Santa Chionia is rich is natural beauty and tenacity, but little else. Regular mudslides and floods scar the rocky landscape. Just after Francesca arrives another massive storm takes out the rickety bridge to the next village. It also washes away the post office, revealing a skeleton buried in the foundation.
As Francesca gets to know the villagers, she will have to face her naivete. But in a town with no running water, no telephone, no secure food source, she doesn’t understand why elders won’t contact authorities to find out who the skeleton is. People shrug or tell her that’s not how things work around her. And a dead body is only the first concerning incident.
It’s 1960. Optimistic Francesca has been assigned to help the tiny mountain village of Santa Chionia. Her mother was Calabrian. She knows the language and she has the confidence of the international relief organization she is working with. She has every reason to believe, with a bit of elbow grease and little persuasion, she will be able to open a daycare center and kindergarten.
Santa Chionia is rich is natural beauty and tenacity, but little else. Regular mudslides and floods scar the rocky landscape. Just after Francesca arrives another massive storm takes out the rickety bridge to the next village. It also washes away the post office, revealing a skeleton buried in the foundation.
As Francesca gets to know the villagers, she will have to face her naivete. But in a town with no running water, no telephone, no secure food source, she doesn’t understand why elders won’t contact authorities to find out who the skeleton is. People shrug or tell her that’s not how things work around her. And a dead body is only the first concerning incident.