Eliza Davis

The Seven of Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a beautifully written novel about family, tradition, and perseverance in the face of tragedy. Stella Fortuna is a hero you route for - tough and stubborn and a fierce protector of herself and her family. Faced with a villainous father, the vengeful ghost of a lost sister, and death itself, Stella overcomes through acts of resistance large and small. The novel captures life in rural Italy between the wars, the voyage to America and the challenges of first generation immigrants. Author Juliet Grames explores the inescapable expectations placed on women and both the strength of spirit and the personal cost required to defy them. Most poignantly, the story of Stella Fortuna conveys the love and strife of family and the choices and twists of fate that define a life.