Beautifully written, this translated story follows two unusual, captivating girls in 1960's Naples, as they grow from young children to starting their first steps into adulthood, sometimes growing apart but always finding their way back to each other. Challenged by their circumstances and the retreating shadow of war, they choose to take different paths in life.

This is a slower paced book, and I did have to work with it a bit for the slower parts. While the story itself was interesting, the curiousity I had for the adults they would become kept me reading, and the lives of the people around them seemed ever changing year by year. Some character names were a little too similar and I did struggle to remember who was who in places.

I felt even early on that this book was going to be set up for a good series, and wouldn't be the strongest of the books, but that I needed to read it to understand Lila and Eleana's history. I'm hoping this remains true as I continue my way through the other books in the series, and as they're 16 at the end of this book, I'm so invested in finding out who they'll be in their 20s.