One Great Lie
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Four starred reviews!
A “quietly triumphant” (Horn Book Magazine) and atmospheric YA story of romance, mystery, and power about a young woman discovering her strength in lush, sultry Venice—from the Printz Honor–winning author of A Heart in a Body in the World.
When Charlotte wins a scholarship to a writing workshop in Venice with the charismatic and brilliant Luca Bruni, it’s a dream come true. Writing is her passion, she loves Bruni’s books, and going to that romantic and magical sinking city gives her the chance to solve a long-time family mystery about a Venetian poet deep in their lineage, Isabella Di Angelo, who just might be the real author of a very famous poem.
Bruni’s villa on the eerie island of La Calamita is extravagant—lush beyond belief, and the other students are both inspiring and intimidating. Venice itself is beautiful, charming, and seductive, but so is Luca Bruni. As his behavior becomes increasingly unnerving, and as Charlotte begins to unearth the long-lost work of Isabella with the help of sweet, smart Italian Dante, other things begin to rise, too—secrets about the past…and secrets about the present.
As the events of the summer build to a shattering climax, Charlotte will be forced to confront some dark truths about the history of powerful men—and about the determination of creative girls.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Writing is white high school senior Charlotte's great love, so receiving a scholarship to a summer writing program run by her favorite author, Luca Bruni, is a dream come true. Its location in Venice is another draw: Charlotte's ancestor, a poet now known only as a paramour of Renaissance poet Tasso, lived there, and Charlotte wants to know more about her. When she arrives, the workshop is equal parts writing heaven and peer competition. Charlotte, who's a "polite, anxious sort," has a writer's strong observational skills—part of her knows that Luca is inappropriate and invasive; the other part wonders when he'll notice her. Caletti (Girl, Unframed) links past and present via the through line of men taking advantage of women: confining them to convents, stealing their work, and generally abusing power structures. The incisive and sharply written, place-laden book balances its contemporary #MeToo narrative with Charlotte's passionate investigation of Renaissance Venice gender politics, and though it's clear from the start that Luca's "words will shatter you, but so might he," watching Charlotte connect past and present while searching for some measure of justice is empowering. Chapter heads reference female Renaissance poets remembered in connection with men. Ages 14–up.
