From Library Journal Faith DiNapoli is the well-meaning eldest daughter of a dysfunctional Italian family living in 1970s Canada. With an absent father， three rambunctious siblings， and a mother who's trying to make the best of the life she's got instead of focusing on the life she wanted， young Faith takes it upon herself to assume religious responsibility and tries to be "good enough" to make up for the flaws of her whole family. She struggles between the person she is and the perfect one she wants to be， and it ultimately takes a test of faith for her to find self-acceptance and her place in the world. Gabriele， a Canadian Lifesize TV executive producer whose work has been published in the Washington Post and Nerve magazine， has written a poignant， memoir-style debut novel that is emotionally intense and ultimately satisfying. Recommended for public libraries. Amy Brozio-Andrews， Albany P.L.， NY Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Booklist This funny， winning coming-of-age novel features Canadian Catholic Faith DiNapoli， one of four children of Giusseppe， her Italian immigrant father， and Nancy， her smart， irreverent mother. Nancy's hobbies were listening to Johnny Mathis and being Catholic until the day Faith makes her First Communion， when Nancy decides that she is never going to church again. Her nonconformity makes her family a pariah in their city neighborhood so the DiNapolis move to a small， rural town， where her parents promptly split up. Now Faith is more worried than ever about adhering to the tenets of her faith. And although she tries hard to be a good Catholic， she spends a good deal of her early teenage years shoplifting fashionable clothes， eyeing her tattooed twentysomething neighbor， pilfering beer， and reading her mother's diary (where she discovers the shocking reason why her mother has disowned her faith). First-novelist Gabriele has created a wonderfully dysfunctional family continually short on money but overflowing with passion. Although Faith may be more sinner than saint， she is sure to be an inspiration to good Catholic girls everywhere. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews