I think some people will be interested in reading this story because of the amazing synopsis, but the truth is that it fell very short.

The character development is practically non-existent and at times the main character acts so much younger than her age that it feels like a completely different person. There is also usage of repetitive catch-phrases that ends up being really annoying and not helpful to the overall reading experience.

I hate that I'm not leaving a better review because the bare bones of this story are great, but unfortunately this novel just wasn't executed well.

In a Nutshell: Only if you have an unbreakable heart will you stay untouched by this beautifully written coming-of-age novel based on a true story and set in 1960s Sicily. Strongly recommended.

Story Synopsis:
1960. Fifteen year old Oliva Denaro tries to live life on her own terms, running freely and helping her father out hunting snails and frogs. However, she is a girl, and as such, she is governed by the ‘rules’ dictated to her by her traditional-minded mother. Oliva doesn’t want to grow up or be visited by the ‘red baron’ as she knows it will make her a woman overnight and her life will change forever.
However, when the rich baker’s son decides that he likes Oliva, her life changes anyway, bringing with it an unwanted attention that leads to much worse. Oliva is now forced into some tough decisions. Will she be able to stand up for herself, or succumb to societal demands?
The story comes to us mostly in the first person perspective of Oliva.

This is going to be the easiest review I have ever written.

Bookish Yays:
🌹 The historical ambience of 1960s Sicily – Spot on.
🌹 The portrayal of the inherent misgynistic practices of the church and the culture – Spot on.
🌹 The rules that girls are expected to follow while boys can do what they want – Spot on.
🌹 Oliva, the lead character with her uncertainties and her insecurities balances with her courage – Spot on.
🌹 Oliva’s parents, torn between their love for their daughter and the expectations set upon them by society – Spot on.
🌹 The rest of the characters, coming together in a realistic medley of the people we encounter in regular life, ranging from busybodies to gossips to selfless supporters – Spot on.
🌹 The first person perspective, revealing to us Oliva’s feelings accurately without resorting to rambling – Spot on.
🌹 The pacing, steadily moving ahead without feeling rushed – Spot on.
🌹 The depiction of rape and its aftermath – Spot on.
🌹 The myriad through-provoking quotes scattered throughout the book, either confirming or challenging your perception of what it means to be a woman – Spot on.
🌹 The ending, neatly tied and yet bittersweet – Spot on.
🌹 The fact that this story is based on a real-life story that would ultimately make Italy modify its rape laws – The icing on the ‘Spot On’ cake.

Bookish ‘If Onlys’:
🌷 While most of the story comes from the first person perspective of Oliva, the final few chapters alternate the first person between Oliva and another character. However, the characters’ names aren’t written at the start, creating a little confusion about who is speaking. I loved both the voices. So just the tiny addition of the character name at the beginning of the chapters would sort this issue.
🌷 There is no author’s note detailing the original case that inspired this story. I wish there were some details that helped us learn more about the gutsy Franca Viola, the trailblazer who said ‘No’. But her name doesn’t even come up. (I hope this is included in the final published version; I read the ARC.)

Bookish Nays:
🌵 Just a teeny nay: The fondness for the word ‘languorous.’ Don’t know if the original writing also used the same word every time Oliva felt flutters in her stomach, but the English translation sure felt repetitive.

Still waiting for the recommendation line? Read the book! Will work for those who like historical fiction, literary fiction, feminist fiction, fiction based on facts, coming-of-age stories, and thoughtful writing.

4.5 stars, happily rounding up.

My thanks to HarperVia and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content Warnings: Domestic violence, rape, misogyny, gender discrimination.

These are the rules: Keep your eyes down, toe the line, stay home. Wear a white dress to your wedding and a black dress to funerals, hold the rosary beads, repeat the prayers, wait for the rosary to finish. Follow the road, look docile, nod. Don't go out alone, don't wear your skirt above your knee, don't talk directly to a man. Stay away from boys, don't sing out loud, don't speak with your mouth full. Don't look at a man, don't wear lipstick, don't laugh with your mouth open, don't stand near the window.

Don't, don't, don't.

Oliva has always been good at following the rules. In 1960s Sicily, she knows no other way. The second daughter of a poor farmer, she knows that her lot in life is either to have a second-rate match found for her or to care for her parents in their old age. But the rules of girlhood, of womanhood, run far deeper than that. Here's the passage that made me sit up and take note:

---

Once, when we were parsing sentences, she [Oliva's teacher] dictated the phrase "A woman is equal to a man and has the same rights." We all bent our heads over our notebooks and started working on the exercise: "woman = feminine singular noun." I didn't like the sound of it.

"Maestra, the exercise must be wrong," I said, plucking up courage. My teacher touched her bouncy red curls that she never tied up.

"What do you mean, Oliva? I don't understand."

"Women is never in the singular," I explained.

She counted on her fingers: "A woman, singular, women, plural. What's the problem?"

But I wasn't satisfied. "A woman is never by herself: when she's home, she's with the kids; when she goes out to market, or church, or to a funeral, she's always with other people. And if there aren't any women to chaperone her, a man has to accompany her."

My teacher raised a finger in the air, the nail varnished bright red, and scrunched up her nose as she always did when she was thinking.

"I've never seen 'women' in the singular," I repeated timidly. (loc. 480)

---

This is beautiful work: Oliva cannot, in this passage, even register the ideas that men and women might be equal and women might have rights—she has not yet learned that a woman can be an individual, can exist outside the whims of others. It's early in the book, well before the more overt parts of the story, but it sets the scene for what Oliva is up against when she eventually defies society, and it sets the scene for a book rich in symbolism and imagery.

"The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro" is inspired by the case of Franca Viola, a Sicilian woman who refused to marry her rapist. Under Sicilian law at the time (the 1960s), if a rapist married his victim, his crime would be erased—and her "crime" of being raped would be forgiven. The same laws were used to facilitate elopements, which of course was used against women, or girls, who dared to resist. This isn't a practice unique to Sicily, but in Sicily it was called fuitina. The details are different enough that you can safely read the Wikipedia pages for Franca Viola and for fuitina without spoiling the book, but in any case Oliva Denaro (and her heart, I guess, but I prefer the editions that use just her name as the title) stands on her own.

I have a few reservations, as per usual. In particular, I'm not entirely sold on the way the last chapters are set up, and some of the resolutions are a bit tidy for my liking. I'd say 4.5 stars, which I usually round down, but this is one of the most gripping things I've read so far this year—I would have kept reading and reading to stay in Oliva's world.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley. Quotes are taken from an ARC and may not be final.