Breaking Traditions: A Review of Becoming Mariella by Janet Constantino

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BECOMING MARIELLA by Janet Constantino Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: BECOMING MARIELLA

Author: Janet Constantino

Pub. Date: February 4, 2025

Publisher: She Writes Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 376

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BECOMING-MARIELLA 

For fans of Elena Ferrante’s The Lying Life of Adults and Jean Kwok’s Girl in Translation comes a contemporary coming-of-age tale about a young Italian immigrant’s desperate journey to find her personal freedom.

It’s unprecedented, even in the twenty-first century, for a young Sicilian woman to defy the centuries-old mandate, “Family is everything!”—but twenty-two-year-old Mariella Russo is desperate to escape Sicily. She’s being relentlessly coerced into an engagement with her wealthy college sweetheart—a young man from a prominent, powerful family—by her envious and erratic mother, who hopes the match will increase her own ignominious social status. Suddenly, Mariella’s lifelong home has become a claustrophobic island. In a bid for independence and an attempt to escape entrapment, she flees to San Francisco.

But Mariella’s bête noire—entrapment—follows her to San Francisco, where everyone wants more from her than she wants to give. Her American roommate, Leslie, turns out to be a gay man rather than the woman she imagined; her employer/lover is pressuring her to live with him; and her neurotic mother is haunting her, wreaking havoc and embarrassment. An urgent return trip to Sicily puts Mariella to the ultimate challenge: will she submit to tradition, or choose a life she wants for herself? 

Reviews:

“Readers will easily relate to this enjoyable and honest depiction of the conflicting desires and expectations faced by many people in their 20s.” —Kirkus Reviews

“. . . Constantino’s prose effectively carries the story . . .” —BookLife Prize

“Janet Constantino creates a host of unforgettable—and delightfully unpredictable—characters in this wise and lively novel full of romance, passion, true friendship, and deliciously detailed descriptions of authentic Italian cooking.” —Mary Helen Stefaniak, author of The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia

“Janet Constantino has created a character of wonderful complexity.” —David Chandler, stage, screen, and voice actor

“Becoming Mariella speaks to any woman or man who has ever wanted more of a future than what was already laid out for them.” —Morgan Ray, author of Sticks and Stones and Unsolicited Greetings

“You’ll end up considering them your friends and want to invite most of them over for dinner.” —Susan Salenger,author of Sidelined

 

 

Why Should You Read It?

Becoming Mariella by Janet Constantino is a compelling exploration of self-discovery, cultural expectations, and the struggle for independence. The novel follows Mariella Russo, a young Sicilian woman desperate to escape the suffocating traditions of her homeland. Pressured into an unwanted engagement by her overbearing mother, she flees to San Francisco, only to find that freedom isn’t as simple as changing locations.

Mariella’s journey is engaging, and her internal conflict is well-drawn—especially as she navigates the expectations placed upon her by family, lovers, and even new friends. The novel does a great job of showcasing the tension between old-world traditions and modern aspirations, and Mariella’s struggles feel authentic. However, the story sometimes stumbles in its execution. The pacing is uneven, with certain moments feeling rushed while others linger unnecessarily. Some characters, particularly those in Mariella’s American life, feel underdeveloped, making their influence on her journey less impactful than it could have been.

While the novel offers an interesting take on cultural identity and personal freedom, it doesn’t fully deliver on its emotional depth. The stakes feel high, but Mariella’s ultimate choices don’t always feel as earned as they should be. Despite its flaws, Becoming Mariella is a thought-provoking read, particularly for those who enjoy stories about breaking free from tradition and forging one’s own path.

 

 

About Janet Constantino:

Janet Constantino is a former a competitive Latin Ballroom dancer and journalist, and has been a licensed psychotherapist since 1983. In 2015, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University, and in 2021, she won second place in the MFK Fisher Last House writing contest. A practicing Buddhist, Janet has a grown son and twin granddaughters. She and her husband of twenty-five years live in the beautiful city of Sonoma, California, with their beloved Labradoodle and tuxedo cat.

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of BECOMING MARIELLA, US Only.

Ends February 22nd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway