Customer Reviews

The Possibilities of Sainthood

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Antonia Lucia Labella is immediately likable from the first pages where she petitions the Vatican to name a Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees. In this warm and witty novel by Donna Freitas, Antonia's voice is what propels this story forward and makes readers not want to leave her world. She prays her way through gym class, a family celebration that requires her to wear a candle crown ablaze and, most importantly, for a truly divine first kiss. Leaving Antonia behind at the end of the book made me melancholy. I hope we will see more of her in the future.
--Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

Fifteen-year-old Antonia Lucia Labella lives in Rhode Island with her mom and grandmother. She helps out in the family's Italian grocery store located beneath their apartment and goes to the all-girls Catholic school with her best friend, Maria. She spends most of her remaining free time learning about her favorite subject: saints.

Antonia prays to the saints everyday, and her favorite section in the school library is the one with anything a person ever wanted to know about saints. In fact, she has a secret goal, known only to her grandmother and Maria, which is to become the very first living saint in the history of the Catholic Church. Every month she writes a letter to the Pope, suggesting an area lacking in saint representation --- for example, the Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees. And every month she humbly suggests herself to fill the role. The Vatican hasn't shown much interest thus far.

Antonia has another secret, this one known only to Maria. At the age of 15, Antonia has yet to experience a real, romantic kiss. And she is determined to do something about it. The object of her affections is the gorgeous Andy Rotellini, who goes to the boys' Catholic school. So far, he doesn't seem to know she exists, but after her mom hires him to work at the family store, the situation seems to take a turn for the better.

There is one other fellow in Antonia's life, a guy who utterly confuses her. Two years ago, she met Michael McGinnis, and they hung out all summer, quickly becoming friends. But then Michael had to go and ruin it all by trying to kiss Antonia. Two years ago, Antonia wasn't ready for her first big kiss, and she ran away from Michael. She's been pushing away his attentions ever since. But Michael is persistent, and Antonia finally agrees to try the friendship thing again. Will Michael behave himself this time? After getting to know him better, does Antonia really want him to?

Donna Freitas has created a warmhearted story filled with humor, reflections and life. Antonia is amazing: very goal-orientated, determined, guided by her heart, a character who almost becomes a real friend. Freitas has a writing style that invites a reader to step into the story, to become part of it, and really feel the emotions and actions of her characters. THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD is a charming and witty book, and her newly-acquired fans will be demanding more.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

When I first read about this book, I thought "hmm, sounds cute, but how interesting can a story about a girl obsessed with saints be?" But I was wonderfully surprised! This story has heart and a wonderfully cohesive family that you don't see often in teen fiction.

I loved spending time with Antonia and her big Italian family and Antonia's side comments about being a Catholic School Girl always made me laugh out loud. I also give big cheers to Maria, who is a great example of a true best friend.

Overall, this is a fun story that is a great feel good read. I would recommend to anyone looking for a smart romance with a great cast of characters.

Posted on my review blog: [...]

I was instantly sucked into Donna Freitas' The Possibilities of Sainthood. Antonia Lucia Labella has a distinctive voice as she lets us into her saint obsessing world. The book starts with her correspondence to the Vatican about why there should be a Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees with the suggestion that she is just the person to fill the role. She fantasizes about becoming the first living Catholic saint, and she is so hopefully that she has written monthly letters to the Vatican since she was eight. At the same time she is navigating a regular 15-year old life and crushing on a boy that goes to the neighboring all-boys Catholic school next to her all-girls school. Antonia's endearing Italian family and culture is also front and center. I loved the humor in this book and seeing the events through Lucia's eyes. The cover also beautifully represents the book.

Antonia Lucia Labella has two desires. One is to get her first kiss. The second is to become the first living saint. Neither looks like it will happen anytime soon for Antonia.

Fifteen, and the daughter of a devout Catholic Italian mother, Antonia is not allowed to attend the combined dances at school until she's sixteen. Her mother freaks out if her skirts go above her knees. And forget about going out of the house in makeup. As you can imagine, with these restrictions, the chance of a boyfriend and getting her first kiss are next to nil.

On a monthly basis, Antonia sends a letter to the Vatican with her latest idea for a new patron saint. Antonia comes up with creative needs that should have a saint. Her recent ideas include a patron saint for figs and fig trees, as well as one for first kisses and kissing.

THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD chronicles a brief glimpse into Antonia's life. With interesting snippits on the causes of various saints, the story moves along with amusing anecdotes from Antonia. Along the way, the reader learns of her secret crush on Andy Rotellini, as well as her confusing friendship with Michael. Antonia shares her angst caused by her three cousins, as well as her inability to become a living saint.

The story is quick and surprisingly educational for all. One doesn't have to be an Italian Catholic to appreciate the humor that Ms. Freitas generates with Antonia, who is sure to endear herself to everyone.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Antonia has two goals in life. Her first goal is to be the first living saint. Yes, you read that right. She wants to be a saint. So, in her quest to be the first living saint, she has launched a letter writing campaign that has been going on for years. Every month she'll write to the Vatican Committee and suggest what saint she could be. Then, every month, she receives a rejection letter. But, Antonia doesn't let that get her down. She just puts the letter up and starts on next months idea. The only people who know about her obsession is her best friend, Maria, her mother and her grandmother.


Antonia's second goal is to be kissed. Which almost happened once with her friend, Michael, but Antonia chickened out and ran away from him. So now, she still hasn't been kissed and she doesn't talk to Michael much anymore. Which isn't too bad, since the boys and girls go to separate schools. Antonia has a crush on a boy named Andy, who goes to the boy's school. But, Antonia thinks that Andy is out of her league. What Antonia doesn't expect, though is for her love life to get more confusing than she ever thought it could.


Antonia is a very quirky and likable character. I was kind of skeptical about this book at first, because I'm not Catholic and didn't know if the book would be preachy or I wouldn't understand some of the things going on. I'm glad I went ahead and picked it up, because the book is definitely not preachy. It's just your regular coming of age story, with a little bit of a twist. The letters that Antonia writes to the Vatican Committee are highly entertaining and kept me laughing. This is a very easy read. Hope to read more from Ms. Freitas in the future!

reposted from: http://writersblockreviews.blogspot.com

Antonia Lucia Labella wants desperately to become the first living saint in the Catholic Church's history. She prays to her beloved saints everyday and petitions the Vatican once a month to not only point out the blatant lack of certain patron saints, but also to offer herself up for the post. As a fifteen-year-old Catholic high school student, she also finds herself desperate to fend off her three nasty cousins and finally grab that elusive first kiss with the guy who she believes to be her one true love. Will Antonia really become the first living saint? Will Andy Rotellini finally kiss Antonia? What about longtime friend Michael, who always seems to be vying for Antonia's attention?

"The Possibilities of Sainthood" is a great novel by Donna Freitas. It is well written, lighthearted, and fun with a humorous story line. I found it impossible not to root for Antonia as she fights so hard to get what she really wants and to contend with her old school Italian family at the same time. If you are Catholic and/or Italian, you may even identify some of the characters with friends and family in your own life. It is, however, very girlie and probably will not appeal to teen boys. It is a quick read that might be promising for hesitant or reluctant readers. All in all, this book gets a full five stars from me and I would highly recommend it.

Antonia's family is like my family....Italian, loud, and has the oddest way of expressing love-as Antonia puts it-"being totally honest with each other" (i.e. fighting).
Naturally, I enjoyed reading about all her greasy-headed-pasta-eating Italino family and her optimistic opinion on boys. (Constantly reminded me of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding though in this case, it should be "My Big Fat Italian Life" instead) What about all those saints, you ask? Silly, I repeat silly. Of course the story wouldn't be the same without Antonia's obsessions over Catholic saints; though the idea of literally praying to all those people seems a bit time consuming if you ask me.

Antonia's character was quite humorous and Freitas description of the Italian families made me laugh out load. The Possibilities of Sainthood's main focus point was Antonia's quest to become the first living saint and the rest was about Antonia's search for the perfect boy to kiss. In my humble opinion, this book was composed pretty well for a first-timer and I would defiantly be on the lookout for any future books by Donna Freitas.
If you're looking for a book with a little comedy, a little romance, and with just a dash of, er, a lot of saints, then The Possibilities of Sainthood is just for you! And now for a nice bowl of pasta......have a great serata guys!



Age Group: YA, ages 13+
Genre: Realistic/Contemporary, Romance, Comedy
Content: Kissing
Recommend? Yes

Antonia Labella is fifteen years old and has yet to be kissed and it is her deepest desire to become the first official living saint. Don't think she's serious? Well every month Antonia sends a letter to the Pope with a new saint idea, whether it be the Patron Saint of Figs, or the Patron Saint of First Kisses, she always has a new idea. She also makes sure that she is in all the good graces of all the current saints, she prays to a different one each night and even keeps a saint journal where she keeps all of her prayers.

Then there is the whole kissing business. There is this boy, Andy Rotellini who Antonia has been lusting after since well, forever basically. She truly believes that he will be the one, but she just may be mistaken in that area. While becoming a saint and experiencing her first kiss seem unlikely, it certainly isn't from lacking of trying on Antonia's part. On a journey of self-discovery Antonia grows up a bit and learns all there is to first kisses and sainthood.

Well, lets start with the fact that I liked this book. The writing was decent, the plot was original and the characters were pretty good. I loved the Italian authenticity and thoroughly enjoyed the religious views that Antonia brought up and discussed. I also think that this book has quite a broad appeal. It's a good book for young and older teens and overall is just plain fun.

As for the plot, well it started out really well. For the first fifty pages or so I was continuously laughing and was really enjoying the book, I pretty much figured that this was going to be a great book, but alas I spoke too soon. Soon Antonia became completely infatuated with this jerk guy and completely ignored the nice guy, and then the story just started getting repetitive. Antonia was doing the same things over and over again and it got very frustrating. The plot was definitely the downfall of the book, but the ending and beginning definitely saved it from being a total blow out.

Although the plot was not that great, the characters were fabulous. Antonia was funny and oh so obsessed with becoming a saint. Her saint ideas were absolutely crazy, but I loved each and everyone. She was adorable waiting for her first kiss and I loved the relationship she had with her best friend. My only qualm with her is that she felt considerable older than fifteen, but it was only until the end of the book that I realized this, so it wasn't that big of an issue. Antonia's grandmother was also a trip. She was forgetful and senile which pretty much made her absolutely hilarious.

Overall I liked this book and thought that it was a solid debut for Donna Freitas.

The Possibilities of Sainthood was one of the best books I have read this year, no doubt about it. It actually transported me to Federal Hill and Antonia, the main character, was a wonderful narrator. I felt everything she felt!
Antonia Lucia Labella has 2 wishes: to get kissed (she is 15 for goodness sakes) and to become a saint. Her family is devoutly Catholic, so she must go to a strict Catholic school (but there are ways around the dress code). Antonia loves all the saints and knows the appropriate one to pray to in every situation. But there are some oversights by the Vatican: what about the Patron of Figs, or the Patron Saint of First Kisses? Antonia, in this winter of surprises, must sort out her feelings about these subjects and think mostly about whether annoying Michael or handsome Andy is her true love.
The book was very predictable, but the whole kiss part at the end was so cute and romantic and gave me tinglies. I LOVED THIS BOOK! It is so hard to describe, you must read it for yourself. Then, and then, you will feel the magic of it, I guarantee. Antonia and her little dialogues (5 Ways Italians Show Their Love, How To Make Your Catholic School Uniform Sexy) cracked me up. You must read this book!