Now a movie streaming on Netflix! A New York Times bestseller A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure. Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home. But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept from Lina for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself. People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more. Gr 7 Up—Carolina, who prefers Lina, is learning how to cope with her mother's death from pancreatic cancer in a new city and country—Florence, Italy. Thanks to a journal left behind from her mother, Lina embarks on an adventure to discover how choices impact love, friendships, and hope. The novel is fast-paced, with plenty of grin-inducing moments. Readers might be frustrated by Lina's occasional inattentiveness to her new environment, but the writing has charm and contains generous sprinkles of Italian commands and phrases. Lina's capacity for and understanding of love transform beautifully over the course of the novel; the book is not solely about her personal romance but also other characters' interwoven love stories. VERDICT A good addition for teens with wanderlust.—Briana Moore, School Library Journal "Lina’s capacity for and understanding of love transform beautifullyover the course of the novel; the book is not solely about her personal romance but also other characters’ interwoven love stories. A good addition for teens with wanderlust." -- School Library Journal "Lina narrates in a breezy style, her mother's journal entries interwoven to provide revelations at carefully paced intervals.Seasoned with luscious descriptions of Renaissance architecture and Italianfood, a sure bet for fans of romance fiction and armchair travel." -- Kirkus "Readers will be caught up in this story of romance, family, and what it really means to be loved." -- Booklist Online "The reader will find it difficult to put this book down." -- VOYA starred review Jenna Evans Welch was the kind of insatiable child reader who had no choice but to grow up to become a writer. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato , Love & Luck , and Love & Olives . When she isn’t writing girl abroad stories, Jenna can be found chasing her children or making elaborate messes in the kitchen. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and two young children. Visit her online at JennaEvansWelch.com. Love & Gelato Chapter 1 THE HOUSE LOOMED BRIGHTLY IN the distance, like a lighthouse in a sea of headstones. But it couldn’t be his house, right? We were probably just following some kind of Italian custom. Always drive newcomers through a cemetery. That way they get a feel for the local culture. Yeah, that must be it. I knit my fingers in my lap, my stomach dropping as the house got closer and closer. It was like watching Jaws emerge from the depths of the ocean. Duuun dun. Only it wasn’t a movie. It was real. And there was only one turn left. Don’t panic. This can’t be it. Mom wouldn’t have sent you to live in a cemetery. She would have warned you. She would have— He flipped on the turn signal, and all the air came rushing out of my lungs. She just didn’t tell me. “Are you okay?” Howard—my dad, I guess I should call him—was looking at me with a concerned expression. Probably because I’d just made a wheezing noise. “Is that your . . . ?” Words failed me, so I had to point. “Well, yes.” He hesitated for a moment and then gestured out the window. “Lina, didn’t you know? About all this?” “All this” didn’t even come close to describing the massive moonlit cemetery. “My grandma told me I’d be staying on American-owned land. She said you’re the caretaker of a World War II memorial. I didn’t think . . .” Panic was pouring over me like hot syrup. Also, I couldn’t seem to finish a single sentence. Breathe, Lina. You’ve already survived the worst. You can survive this, too. He pointed to the far end of the property. “The memorial is that building right up there. But the rest of the grounds are for the graves of American soldiers who were killed in Italy during the war.” “But this isn’t your house house, right? It’s just where you work?” He didn’t answer. Instead we pulled into the driveway, and I felt the last of my hope fade along with the car’s headlights. This wasn’t ju