The Adventures of Miss Vulpe: A Coming of Age Story for Adults

The Adventures of Miss Vulpe: A Coming of Age Story for Adults by Maria Elena Sandovici
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Ana Petrescu (a.k.a. Miss Vulpe) is a troubled teenager determined to solve the mystery of her parents' double suicide. Escaping the scrutiny of her legal guardian and the unwanted interference of several therapists, she starts looking up people from her mother's past. Her sleuthing requires her to lie about her identity, her age, and her lack of experience with men. While impersonating Miss Vulpe is more fun than going to school, there's bound to be trouble and heartache when her web of lies unravels.

Book Review

Here, we are immediately introduced to Ana, a 16-year-old girl trying to find herself amidst her teenage struggles.  Not only is she without her mother, who has died, and her father who enrolls her in different schools to tame her personality, but she is also trying to explore who her mother really was and why she died.  But this story is not about Ana, she is a part of it.  This story is about the love triangle between Richard, Rogers, and Louise.  Going back and forth in time, learning where everyone stands in this history of love and loss and finding who you really are, lies the most engrossing kind of story one can read.  When everything connects and Ana discovers the mystery that encompasses her mom, she then discovers herself and by the end of the book, she is no longer the mischievous, immature girl she was at the beginning.  She grows in ways she didn't expect and maybe didn't want to. "...her perfume now engulfing me, a different one than the sweet stuff she used to wear in Spain, but still heavy, still musky, still too much yet not enough, just like Louise herself."  I felt the author's purpose for every character with this particular line.  Ms. Sandovici did so well with this story, especially including Texas as one of the locations.  I give it 4 stars because I couldn't stop thinking about it each time I had to stop reading.  True to its genre and compelling from beginning to end, this one is a gem of a read. You can get your copy below and support the author by leaving a review.

Thank you to review team member, Jenica, The Ambitious Reader