April Pick/ BRAVA VALENTINE

By Adriana Trigiani

In this sequel to, "Very Valentine" we catch up with the Angelini/Roncalli family as Gram is about to get married in Italy to long time love, Dominic. Granddaughter Valentine is feeling a mix of emotions. Happiness for her beloved grandmother but bereft at the thought of losing her business partner, roommate and sounding board, not just to marriage, but also the fact that Teodora will be living thousands of miles and an ocean away from her!

The one bright spot is that Valentine is looking forward to possibly renewing her acquaintance with Dominic's handsome and charming son, Gianluca. But family and business interrupt the reunion. first there's Aunt Feen, whose bitterness leads to a drunken wedding toast and a visit to the hospital, then there is Gram's announcement that Valentine's new business partner will be none other than Valentine's brother Alfred, who she loves as her brother, but dislikes as a person in general.

When she returns home, Valentine must get her new line of shoes off the ground while maintaining the integrity of Angelini Custom Shoes. She also discovers long lost secrets and an unknown branch of the family. A new roomate, romanced by letters from Gianluca, and a trip to Buenos Aires keep Valentine busy, but also wondring. Is it possible to have love and success? Has seeing the men in her family betray their wives made her afraid to love and trust? The year passes, seasons change, and Valentine grows and changes also into the confident, and loving business woman her Grandmother nutured.

April Pick/ TRUE CONFECTIONS

By Katharine Weber

Candy, candy, candy! How sweet it is! Or so it may seem, but when you run a family owned candy company, there can be bitter with the sweet.

So goes the novel, "True Confections" by Katharine Weber. It's the story of the Ziplinsky family and the candy company, Zip's that they have run since it began in 1910. But this story is told in a somewhat unique way, in the form of a written affidavit by Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky, the wife of Howard, who is the great-grandson of Eli, a Hungarian immigrant and founder of Zip's.

"True Confections" is not only the story about candy, although there are quite a few side stories about candy-making, ingredients, and the novel even mentions some real-life candy companies, like Mars and Hershey's and their histories. The novel also tells the story of immigrants making new lives for themselves in a new world. The threat of WWII on the European Jewish community and families being separated, and even the Third Reich's plan to establish a compound on of Madagascar for the exiled Jewish people. It's also the story of an outsider looking in, wanting to belong and finally becoming a part of the family. It's about running a business and moving it forward into the future while still trying to stay true to the past.

Now don't worry. Even though the novel is written as an affidavit, it is not filled with a bunch of legalese. Bouncing back and forth between the present and the past, Alice tells the story of the Czaplinsky brothers and their candy. She explains the dynamics of this family as a family member but also as a business woman looking out for her company and her children's' inheritance. There is humor and warmth to the story also as it covers the universal themes of family, love, and betrayal.