The Possibilities of Sainthood

Written by Donna Freitas

Narrated by Emily Bauer

Antonia Lucia Labella has two secrets: at fifteen, she's still waiting for her first kiss, and she wants to be a saint. An official one. Seem strange? Well, to Antonia, saints are royalty, and she wants her chance at being a princess. All her life she's kept company with these kings and queens of small favors, knowing exactly whom to pray to on every occasion. Unfortunately, the two events Antonia's prayed for seem equally unlikely to happen. It's not for lack of trying. For how long has she been hoping to gain the attention of the love of her life - the tall, dark, and so good-looking Andy Rotellini? Too long to mention. And every month for the last eight years, Antonia has sent a petition to the Vatican proposing a new patron saint and bravely offering herself for the post. So what if she's not dead?

But as Antonia learns, in matters of the heart and sainthood, things are about as straightforward as wound-up linguini, and sometimes you need to recognize the signs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 5, 2008
• ISBN: 9781423372721

Donna Freitas

Donna Freitas is a college professor whose research has focused on issues related to sex, romance, relationships and consent for over a decade. She has spoken about this work at schools across the country as well as on NPR, The Today Show, and many other radio and tv shows. She lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews for The Possibilities of Sainthood

[annadelc0 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Donna has created a great tale with lots of Italian flavor in its pages. Her characters are believable and easy to relate too. I enjoyed the cover, it is a picture perfect of its content. The story, its characters, and the many saints that Antonia prays to are very real in the protagonist’s life.Antonia, the main character, is a fifteen-year-old catholic schoolgirl living in the world of today. Like many other girls her age, she spends hours trying to figure out a way that her knee high uniform looks cool, beneath her mother’s strict scrutiny. However, unlike many girls her age, she knows and keeps a diary of a zillion saints and knows who to ask for all the favors she might need, every moment of the day.She has a crush on a young man from the men’s Catholic school, yet her friend Michael spends a lot of time chasing her. Michael is the flirty type and calls every girl love, which Antonia disapproves of. Nonetheless, the boy she likes doesn’t pay any attention to her, but this is not going to discouraged her.She is more than sure that every girl in the school has been kissed but her and she is dying to have that experience for herself. Yet, she isn’t going to let it happened with just anyone, specially not with Michael. Antonia had devotedly written letters to the Vatican suggesting herself as a living Saint, every month for nine years. Each month is for a very important reason. Perhaps it has to do with her father dying in an accident, the month before she started her quest to sainthood. Her widow mother—the best Italian pasta maker in Rhode Island— is in charge of the family business, where Antonia, her mother, and grandmother live. Her mother is taken right out of an Italian Family, with mode-isms and a fiery vocabulary to match her Italian blood. It makes for many entertaining moments.Her teenage life becomes very exciting when her mother hires the love of her life to work in the family store, and when she goes to a forbidden dance and gets busted. I recommend this book to anyone older than twelve years. Girls will identify with the protagonist and find it fascinatingly fun.

[kelleykl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fifteen-year-old Antonia, the daughter of the most famous pasta maker in Rhode Island, is obsessed with the saints. She spends hours in the school library reading their stories and petitions the Vatican monthly with new ideas for saints. But what Antonia really wants is her first kiss--and to become the first living saint. I was drawn in my Antonia's voice. The first-person narrative does a good job of capturing a fifteen-year-old's enthusiasm, doubts, and victories. However, the longer I read, the more it stumbled. That authentic voice gives way to clumsy narrative at times. Freitas misses the mark in some scenes that could be very funny and rushes through other moments. That said, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to my older middle school students. It has a nice voice. It was also refreshing to see a book that celebrates innocence instead of exploiting it.

[mdtwilighter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book followed the quest of a teenage Italian-American girl for her first kiss. Antonia Lucia Labella goes to a Catholic school, lives in Providence, RI and is trying to become the first living saint. The book showed the importance of saints and the Catholic church in Italian culture really well, as well as defining Italian Americans in a funny but loving way. I recognized many of the "quirks" described in the book in my own family. Antonia had a great "voice" and I instantly felt a connection to her.

[othemts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure how this novel ended up on my "to read" list as it is definitely geared toward teenage girls. All the same, I enjoyed the change of pace and different perspectives. Better yet, this is a deeply Catholic novel steeped in the Italian-American culture of Providence, Rhode Island. The protagonist and narrator Antonia is a 15-year old girl who works in her family's Italian food store and goes to an all-girls parochial high school. She is fascinated with the saints and has two dreams: to become the first person canonized as a saint while still alive and to get her first kiss from the boy of her dreams. Although set in current times, aspects of this book seem at least 30 years gone by, but then again Catholic childhoods are behind the times which may be good or bad depending on your point of view. While Antonia is charmingly old-fashioned in her devotion to the saints she is believably progressive as well. The novel takes many a humorous turn and charms with its innocence.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Antonia Lucia LaBella is a student at a Catholic High School, works at her family's Italian grocery store, and has aspirations of becoming the first living saint in history. To that end, she petitions the Vatican on a monthly basis with a new proposal for saint specialization. She is also obsessed with meeting the right boy for her first kiss. A mix of lots of saint lore and a girly quest for romance, the book was light and entertaining. At times it got a bit tiresome as an audio book with all the letters to the pope and prayers, but I did like Antonia when she wasn't whining at her mom and enjoyed the development of her relationship with Michael.

[edspicer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If one wishes to become a Saint, one should research the process by which Saints are established and then send regular emails to the Vatican explaining to the Pope how to overcome the small detail of becoming a saint without first dying. Has there ever been a patron saint of fig trees? Antonia knows how hard it is to take care of her mother’s fabulous figs. She would be the perfect patron saint of fig trees. When this request is ignored, Antonia turns her attention to a more compelling personal interest. Antonia is anticipating and dreaming of her very first kiss. She regularly communes with the saints seeking intervention on her behalf, especially as it concerns Andy Rotellini, the boy whose kisses most preoccupy her mind, despite her widowed mother’s determination to prevent Antonia from even thinking about kissing. It suddenly dawns on Antonia that there is no patron saint of the first kiss. Antonia has a purpose in life—and beyond! This charming and sweet book is smart enough to attract even those teens who eschew both charming and sweet.