Some things we believe will never happen to us. Yet, when one night her father does not come home, 13 year-old Giulia finds out at her expense that they sometimes do. When she calls her father’s office, she finds out he hasn’t been seen there for months, ever since he got fired! Could it be possible that her father didn’t tell anything, claiming to be going off to work every morning? And why did he run off? Giulia wants to find out. But this isn’t her only problem, as now she has to face a hard reality: being poor!

“All But One” makes a refreshing read with lively, believable characters. Most teenagers will recognize their own experiences in the lifelike events of this novel, and will find a positive outlook on their troubles.

A writer, a journalist, a radio speaker and a painter, Pina Varriale lives in Naples, where she has developed artistic and theatrical workshops for youths-at-risk. Many of her characters and settings have been inspired by life in the slums and by the difficult, contradictory youths she knows so well. Her books have met the enthusiasm of readers both young and adult, earning her prestigious first prizes in many national awards.

Otherwise inspired short stories by Pina Varriale have appeared in horror and science-fiction anthologies, and her drawer still keeps disclosing very personal, introspective novels meant for mature readers.

 

 

Not your every-day author, Pina Varriale conceives writing as an artistic and pedagogical commitment. Her work is open to contamination from different literary genres, and rich with dialogues on the most vital and dramatic aspects of our time.