After her mother, Hadley, dies from cancer, Lina gets to Italy, less than thrilled about living with Howard, the caretaker of an American WWII memorial in Tuscany. Hadley had always described Howard as "a good friend," but Lina assumes that Howard is her father, at least until she reads Hadley's journal she kept during photography school in Italy, where Hadley made the inscription "I made the wrong choice." Alongside the charming Italian-American boy named Ren who befriends Lina her first day in Italy, Lina retraces her mother's steps to discover what the choice was and why it was wrong, while ultimately coming to know herself and make her own choices about love (and, yes, gelato).
I really enjoyed Welch's style, because her book gives many different looks at Italy -primarily from Lina and Hadley's perspectives -with alluring descriptions of a land peopled with distinctive characters. Even the relatively minor characters, such as Ren's friends, are reasonably fleshed out and dynamic. Lina's character arc was predictable but enjoyable. Somewhat cheesy but also grappling with some complicated ideas, this was the kind of YA novel that was well-paced and well-executed, thought-provoking while still providing the pleasant sense of being a romantic easy read.