Flirting in Italian

British teenager Violet looks nothing like the rest of her family, so when she discovers a painting of a girl who shares her dark, Mediterranean features and who could be her twin, Violet can’t help wondering if she’s adopted. Rather than ask her mother, the 17-year-old engineers a trip to Tuscany for herself for a summer of finishing school that includes a visit to the Castello di Vesperi, the setting for the painting. As soon as Violet lands in Italy, however, the painting is forgotten in favor of girl drama, a bevy of cute Italian boys, jealous Italian girls, etiquette lessons, and reveling in the magical villa and lush countryside. While Henderson (Kiss Me Kill Me) offers a perky heroine in Violet and plenty of tantalizing romance, readers may be jarred when the dropped thread suddenly picks up again in the second half of the novel, and someone may be out to hurt Violet. Light summer fun with much left unresolved for a planned sequel. Ages 12–up. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider. (June)