9. Very Valentine

by Adriana Trigiani – This stand-alone novel (i.e., not part of Trigiani’s Stone Gap series) is a delight. The characters are genuine and easy to relate to. The settings are described with love and an intimate knowledge. The plot is believable and resolves perfectly, which is not to say that every one is blissfully happy or paired off. Readers are left with a sense that the end of the novel is the beginning of something exciting for the characters, without feeling that the plot and subplots have been left unresolved. No, it’s more like real life, where every ending is also a beginning and there’s hope for more. I’d love to read another novel involving these characters, but I don’t need to. This book is complete as it is. (finished 3/9)