August holidays are just around the corner and we at Finking are also enjoying some well-deserved rest this month (albeit on and off, because we know you just can’t do without our services!), so here we are with our reading recommendations!
Elena’s recommendations:
1. R.J. Palacio, Wonder
This novel, published in Italy in 2013 and also known thanks to the successful film adaptation, tells the story of August Pullman, a 10-year-old boy suffering from a craniofacial deformity, who for the first time faces the school world by entering sixth grade. An overwhelming book, which with a simple but never trivial style teaches us that everyone has the right to be themselves. A book that I would highly recommend, because it makes you realise that diversity should not be seen as an obstacle, but as an experience from which to learn important lessons.
2. Tony Wheeler. Across Asia on the cheap
Would you like to travel but at the mere thought of having to set aside money, choose itineraries and organise everything, have you already shelved the idea? This is definitely the book for you! Born out of the experiences of Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who set off from London in a minivan with the dream of visiting Asia and Australia, this book full of autobiographical notes and advice later became the first Lonely Planet guide. Although you may be spending your summer under the parasol this year, it will take your mind on a journey to wonderful places!
Mary Ann’s recommendations:
1. Sally Rooney, Normal People
Could I not jump on this book, which everyone is super excited about, and which moreover has a protagonist with (almost) the same name as me? Of course not! Come and discover, too, the story of Marianne and Connel, which on the surface may seem like a trivial passing story between two kids, but which in reality reflects what we young people have to face in these new times: the fears, the fragilities and the difficulties of showing our feelings and talking about our dreams, in a society that is so open, yet still steeped in prejudice and full of walls.
2. Giuseppe Catozzella, Non dirmi che hai paura
This is one of those books that stole my heart. The protagonist is Samia, a young girl from Mogadishu: life has not given her much, the war has also taken away her freedom, but she has a dream and that is what she will continue to fight for every day. Samia wants to run, she wants to go all the way to the Olympics and win them. It seems almost impossible, this dream of hers, in the situation she is in. It seems like she just can’t make it. Reading this book, I felt like I was fighting with her, trying with her, suffering and rejoicing with her. And, above all, I really realised how lucky we who are born in this part of the world are. This is the book for you if what you are looking for are deep emotions and lots of food for thought!
