Orange Peels and Cobblestones

When Marietta is 10 years old, her mother sends her from Italy to New York to be adopted by her aunt and uncle. As Marietta grows up, she is haunted by her mother's decision and feels cast aside. Years later, Marietta's husband, John, encourages her to reconnect with her estranged mother and sister in order to discover the truth about her family and her past. Dunphy skillfully captures the book's dual settings of Italy and New York, but the narrative's pace is very slow, and the author fails to create characters that readers will connect with. Marietta is a weak protagonist, timid and unwilling to take action%E2%80%94qualities that readers will quickly find frustrating.