Writing

IF ONLY YOU WERE ITALIAN

Pippa Preston always wanted to go to Italy, but not by herself. And certainly not to sit in a classroom the summer before senior year learning about paintings by dead guys. Fed up with her parents arranging her life and tempted by the opportunity to build her photography portfolio on ancient ruins, Pippa ditches the art program. Fingers crossed she doesn’t get busted too soon, she uses her newfound freedom to experience Italy on her own terms, and work on a list of summer goals—get my picture taken at the Colosseum; get a makeover; fall in love with an Italian.

But then she meets archaeology student Darren, who’s definitely not Italian. As she travels with him and a few of his classmates across Italy, he helps her discover who she is away from her family. And even if his curly hair and crooked smile make her insides melt, she can’t completely forget that her summer abroad is temporary. Eventually, she’ll have to go back home, back to high school. Back to the wrath of her parents. As she explores the famous cities of Rome and Pompeii, Pippa must figure out what freedom really is—that it lies in the individual choices she makes rather than her circumstances.