Content report card
Villa Coco parent’s guide: what’s inside
Violence
Scary or mature
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
Villa Coco is marketed as young adult but appears to be adult literary fiction by a Pulitzer Prize winner known for sophisticated, witty prose. The book explores themes of self-discovery, human connection, and emotional growth through a charming Mediterranean adventure. While the content seems generally mild, the sophisticated narrative voice, romantic themes, and description as 'bawdy' suggest it's better suited to mature teens or adults rather than younger YA readers. Without access to the full text, confidence is limited, but the publisher categorization and author's style suggest upper teen/adult readership.
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From the publisher
Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer ("A great chronicler of our times." -San Francisco Chronicle) showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this magical and madcap tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hil... Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer ("A great chronicler of our times." -San Francisco Chronicle) showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this magical and madcap tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills Broke and directionless, our young man (the chosen moniker of Villa Coco's narrator) takes a job in the Italian countryside as the all-purpose assistant (technically, the employment ad asked for "adjutant") to Lisabetta, known to her friends as Coco, a strong-willed, wealthy widow of great local renown. Technically, our young man is an archivist, charged with cataloguing Coco's extensive and eclectic collection of art and artifacts, but what are his actual duties? He is charged with ridding the house of a marten, whatever that is, locating the antediluvian septic system, entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and not inadvertently sabotaging Coco's great and final plan--to locate the lost love of her life and be reunited before it's too late. Told with the signature wit, insight, and deeply felt humanity that made Less an international phenomenon, Villa Coco is a dazzling, sun-soaked ode to life itself--a romp through a youthfully self-constructed emotional obstacle course, a meditation on what we give and take from others, and a bawdy Mediterranean ballad about becoming who you've always wanted to be.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Romance
- Tuscany (Italy)
- Young Adult
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ISBN 9780385551977 · Doubleday Books