The Italian Prisoner

Book excerpt: 1943. New Orleans. Rose Marino lives with her Sicilian immigrant parents and helps in the family grocery store. Her older brother and sister both joined the Army, and Rose prays for their safety as World War II rages overseas. Her parents expect Rose to marry a local boy and start a family. But she secretly dreams of being more like her fiercely independent widowed godmother. Behind her parents’ back, Rose lands a job at the shipyard, where she feels free and important for the first time in her life. When the parish priest organizes a goodwill mission to visit Italian prisoners of war at a nearby military base, Rose and her vivacious best friend, Marie, join the group. There, Rose falls for Sal, a handsome and intelligent POW. Italy has switched sides in the war, so the POWs are allowed out to socialize, giving Rose and Sal a chance to grow closer. When Rose gets a promotion at work, she must make an agonizing choice: follow a traditional path like Marie or keep working after the war and live on her own terms. Inspired by little-known historical events and set to a swing-era soundtrack, The Italian Prisoner is an engrossing story of wartime love, family secrets, and a young woman’s struggle to chart her own course at an inflection point in American history. Book Review 1: “The repercussions of WWII are lovingly rendered through one woman’s story, with an endearing cast of characters who all feel like family by the end.”—LALITA TADEMY, New York Times best-selling author of Oprah’s Book Club pick Cane River, Red River, and Citizens Creek Book Review 2: "… an essential contribution to the treasure trove of Italian American fiction and a transporting page-turner. I want everyone in my family to meet Rose, our inspiring heroine, whose extraordinary story will stay with me for a long time." –CHRISTOPHER CASTELLANI, author of Leading Men Book Review 3: “… intimate historical fiction at its page-turning best.”—PAMELA ROTNER SAKAMOTO, author of Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds Book Review 4: “… a compelling mix of freshness and familiarity, using a female rites-of-passage narrative to transport readers to 1940s New Orleans and to bring alive the timeless challenges of living in a nation at war.”—ANN HAGEDORN, award-winning author of Beyond the River, Savage Peace, Sleeper Agent and more Book Review 5: “… a refreshing addition to the historical women’s fiction bookshelf.”—KAIA ALDERSON, author of Sisters in Arms Book Review 6: “A dazzling World War II love story set in New Orleans that will pull you in from the very first paragraph.”—JENNIFER SMITH TURNER, award-winning author of Child Bride, named the Best eBook of 2020 by the Black Caucus of The American Library Association Book Review 7: “… a beautiful book that will touch anyone who ever dared want more out of life.” —CHARLES FORREST JONES, author of The Illusion of Simple Book Review 8: "The author's keen eye for the history of those years are evident as delightful details of the city at war abound.”—BRIAN ALTOBELLO, author of Whiskey, Women, and War: How the Great War Shaped Jim Crow New Orleans Book Review 9: “With true-to-life family dynamics and the drama of first love, the author invites us to take a passeggiata alongside her heroine Rose.”—SHAUNNA J. EDWARDS, co-author of The Thread Collectors Book Review 10: “… compelling, atmospheric, and refined. A truly magnificent read.” —DIANNE C. BRALEY, author of The Silence in the Sound