This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Christine Nguyen for Readers' Favorite
The Virgin Chronicles is an engaging memoir by Marina DelVecchio about a young woman’s complex relationship with her adoptive mother, Ann. Kathy is used to her mother calling her “putana,” a Greek word with two meanings; a dirty word for the vagina and whore. Little does her mother know that Kathy spends her Friday nights with her Chinese friend, Joyce, watching Disney movies about princesses and princes falling in love. Kathy feels invisible in the apartment in Queens she shares with her mother. She yearns for acceptance, approval, and mostly love. Kathy is a serial dater, dating multiple men but never losing her virginity. She clings to her virginity until she meets a man who can see beyond her body and sexiness. Kathy yearns for the love her mother cannot and will not give her.
Marina DelVecchio is a gifted storyteller. She weaves a story of captivating emotional depths while detailing her romantic experiences with men throughout her early womanhood. The Virgin Chronicles touches something deep inside the reader, something evocative and sensual. The reader feels Kathy’s deep longing for more than physical pleasure and her struggles to deny her body's cravings. This mesmerizing book explores more than just losing one’s virginity. It explores how women are objectified and sexualized daily; the culture and the environment in which women are raised; and the most fundamental relationship between a mother and daughter. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every sentence and was disappointed when the story ended.
