Here’s the new “Featured Fiction” booktalk I wrote for my HS Library site:
The Possibilities of Sainthood
by Donna Freitas
“But, death aside, I firmly believed that is word got out among people my age about the possibilities of sainthood, there would be a rush of girls clamoring to cut in line. In front of me. Fox would probably have to host a reality show to accommodate everybody. Hundreds of thousands would turn out to audition.
I preferred to be in a line of one for sainthood, however (38).”
Antonia Lucia Labella wants to be a saint. Born on February 14, St. Valentine’s Day, Antonia feels a direct connection to the gifts, miracles and demands of sainthood. She keeps Saint Diaries each year, seven so far, with all of her prayers for heavenly assistance tailored to each saint’s speciality. Whether it’s praying to St. Denis the Patron Saint Against Strife and Headaches when she argues with her mom before school or even writing to the Vatican asking them to create a new Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees to protect her Italian American family’s, well, fig trees, Antonia studies and invokes her celestial helpers at every turn.
Dreaming of being the first and only living saint keeps Antonia busy. She is adamant about the staying alive clause. She doesn’t plan to be another St. Antonia who died at sixteen protecting her virginity. She has plans for love, including a major crush on the cute-but-brooding Andy Rotellini. If only Andy would notice her, maybe she would have a shot at becoming the Patron Saint of the Kiss!
Genres: Chick Lit, Humorous Stories
There’s also a fun video book trailer by signingupagain that I’ve added to my worldlibrarian channel on YouTube:
The Uncommon Reader 