Een twaalfjarig meisje uit Napels ontdekt, naarmate ze ouder wordt, steeds meer leugens en bedrog in haar familie waardoor er zekerheden afbrokkelen en ze zich afvraagt wie ze eigenlijk is. Bron: Bibliotheek.nl

Sigh. Rounded up. I so loved the author's Neapolitan series, but this felt like she took the same stories and just moved them around a bit (not even a lot - she re-used names, locations, themes - even cars for goodness' sake!). I also had to look to see if the translator was the same as the writing felt more "loopy" and all over the place rather than tight. And the ending left me turning pages going "wtf??" But I DID make it to the ending, I could not put it down before then. ( )

The Hell That Is Puberty

This is the story of Giovanna, an adolescent middle-class girl living in Naples. Her father had worked to climb the social ladder and has been successful at it, her mother has maintained her social position and it is expected that Giovanna will make her life decisions cautious not to "go down". Giovanna becomes acquainted with her Aunt Vittoria who lives in the poorer neighbourhoods of Naples and who forces her to really look at the prim and proper structure filled with custom and propriety, and sure enough she begins to see the cracks.

While disillusionment is occurring, Giovanna becoming aware of the falsehoods, infidelities and betrayals of adults, she also experiences that grand physical and mental shift that is puberty. Ferrante writes of how confusing and disorienting that phase of life can be, exploring budding sexuality, friendship and love.

I loved the [b:The Neapolitan Novels|26828169|The Neapolitan Novels|Elena Ferrante|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443412457l/26828169._SY75_.jpg|46858867] and was excited when this book was finally available for me to borrow. The last thing I wanted was to not like the book simply because it wasn't the Neapolitan books, but Ferrante's brilliant storytelling more than made sure that wouldn't be the case. I however don't remember the Neapolitan novels being as risqué as this one was, and at first was confused as to why a book centering an adolescent would be so sexual and then I remembered my adolescence and it all made sense. ( )

Another beautiful novel of Elena Ferrante. I loved how she described the innermost feelings of Giovanna and her relations with her parents and her estranged aunt. Only the ending left me wanting more. I really loved it! ( )

An amazing (and accurate) portrayal of that point in a young person's life when they discover that a lot of the things their parents had told them about everything from sex, love, family, relationships, politics and religion are not entirely true. Told through the eyes of Giovanna, Ferrante beautifully describes the coming-of-age experience, the class divide in Naples (and Italy) in the 90s and the status of women. Like descriptions in Ferrante's other works, I am horrified by the levels of sexual harassment (cat-calling, propositioning, mauling etc) experienced by girls as young as 12. A wonderful read. ( )