Bite-Sized Chapters: Dive into each chapter in minutes. The vocabulary and grammar used are optimized for beginners and intermediate Italian learners.
Bilingual Wordlist: Learn some of the most common Italian words and verbs, ready to add to your flashcards.
Insights on Common Mistakes: Written with the most recurring mistakes Italian beginners and intermediate learners make in my classes in mind.
Speaking Prompts: Enhance your spoken Italian skills, whether alone or with your tutor.
Cultural Insights About Sicily: Gain insights into some of the most picturesque villages in Sicily and get ready for your next trip to Italy.
Realistic Adult Stories: Learn real-life dialogues and experiences that you'll encounter as traveler in Italy.
The Plot
Fiona is a young American who is traveling to Sicily to obtain her dual citizenship through her great-grandparents. While visiting the small picturesque village of Montalbano Elicona, where her ancestors came from, she makes new friends...and more.
This short novel in Italian has been designed and optimized by a teacher of Italian with over 10 years of teaching experience, specializing in teaching adult Italian language learners.
When I started this book, I was in the midst of pursuing Italian citizenship by descent (like the protagonist of this story, who travels to Sicily to retrieve her grandfather's birth certificate to complete her application - that's why I chose it). Halfway through my reading, however, the Italian government suddenly announced that it was severely tightening its requirements for citizenship, and I no longer qualified through my Sicilian family members.
My disappointment and bitterness were great, and I lost my zest for learning the language. The book sat on my desk gathering dust for some time. When I finally roused myself and went back to the book, I realized I...could understand it, with no help from the dictionary. I'm not sure what alchemy took place during that time, but as an insatiable consumer of language, I am once again excited about learning Italian, a language I genuinely adore. But still bitter. Still annoyed that I didn't think to pursue EU citizenship until Trump's second term (i.e. WAY too late).
Oh, but as for the book, it's really good. It's lovely. It's a wonderful way to learn a language.
The book is best matched to lower intermediate than intermediate. The vocabulary instruction is good, as are the questions at the end of each chapter. I would recommend it.