love and gelato essay

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Love & gelato.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 4 Reviews
• Kids Say 39 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Teen grapples with grief and first love in charming romance.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Love & Gelato is a combination romance and coming-of-age novel set in and around Florence, Italy. Though the book's a light, fun read, it deals with a teen, Lina, who has lost her mother to cancer and is trying to figure out who her real father is. When she moves to Italy from…

Why Age 12+?

Most brands and media used for scene setting or to indicate a time period, inclu

No smoking. Lina, an American, experiences culture shock and declines when she f

A man grabs a girl's bottom in nightclub.

A few scenes of kissing, but it's mild and not graphic.

No swearing, only "butt" and "boobs."

Any Positive Content?

Sometimes you have to take risks. Follow your heart. Always be yourself. Be hone

Lina's a smart, kind teen who has been dealt a few terrible blows, but she pulls

Details on the geography, art, history, and architecture of Florence, Rome, and

Products & Purchases

Most brands and media used for scene setting or to indicate a time period, including Cosmopolitan magazine, The Price Is Right, Red Bull, iPod, FaceTime, the Olive Garden, Barbie, Dirty Dancing , Converse, Roman Holiday .

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

No smoking. Lina, an American, experiences culture shock and declines when she first is offered wine. There are a couple of scenes of kids drinking at parties, a few times until they're tipsy, but no one is shown drunk. Adults drink wine at a dinner party and get a little tipsy.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Sometimes you have to take risks. Follow your heart. Always be yourself. Be honest with people in your life. Life isn't always fair, but you can still find happiness.

Positive Role Models

Lina's a smart, kind teen who has been dealt a few terrible blows, but she pulls herself out of self-pity to face her new life. Howard's a caring, insightful, patient adult role model for Lina. He advises her but also gives her the space she needs. Sonia is a positive female adult in Lina's life: helpful, supportive, friendly. Lina's friends are all caring and helpful to her, especially Addie and Ren.

Educational Value

Details on the geography, art, history, and architecture of Florence, Rome, and Venice. Some Italian phrases readers can look up if interested.

Parents need to know that Love & Gelato is a combination romance and coming-of-age novel set in and around Florence, Italy. Though the book's a light, fun read, it deals with a teen, Lina, who has lost her mother to cancer and is trying to figure out who her real father is. When she moves to Italy from Seattle, Lina doesn't even know the man she's sent to live with. Within a few weeks, she has made friends, had romantic ups and downs, and has read her mom's most intimate secrets from her time in Florence. The story is fast-paced and deals in a bit of wish fulfillment (characters live in Tuscan villas, throw big parties, and so on). There's no swearing and very little smoking, drinking, and violence in the book. Characters kiss but only a few times, and it isn't sexually charged. Most of the characters are good, supportive people.

Where to Read

Parent and kid reviews.

• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (39)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Great Book!

What's the story.

When 17-year-old Lina loses her mom to cancer, she honors her mom's dying wish that she spend a summer, and maybe longer, in Tuscany. Lina travels halfway around the world to meet and stay with her mother's friend, Howard, who is the caretaker of an American WWII cemetery just outside Florence. The catch? Howard may or may not be her father. As LOVE & GELATO unfolds, Lina reads a journal her mother kept during her time Florence. She sees her mother in a new light, reading about her excitement over studying in Italy, making new friends, falling in love, enduring heartbreak, and making life-changing decisions. As Lina gets to know her mom better, she must deal with the grief welling up inside her. Lina's own romantic life and choices are central to the story, as her mom's journal serves as motherly advice and a cautionary tale.

Is It Any Good?

This light, fun, fast-paced romance is a charmer. While still processing her grief over her mother's death, Lina Emerson is sent to Italy to live with an old friend of her mother's for the summer. In her first few weeks in Tuscany, she learns a lot about herself, her mother, and love. Author Jenna Evans Welch has a good ear for teen dialogue, and it's easy to fall into Lina's relationships and feelings. When Lina is handed her mother's journal from her time as a student in Florence, the story picks up. The reader gets to know Lina's mom's backstory as Lina herself is learning it. It tugs at the heart watching her slowly feel the depth of her sadness over her mom's death.

The mystery over who Lina's real father is is well written and adds a suspenseful element to the book. Lina's romantic struggles are cute and not too intense or heavy. In fact, the characters and romantic relationships could have had more depth and explanation. It's hard to believe that so much can happen to a person in a couple of weeks, but sometimes it's fun to suspend disbelief and go with it. Love & Gelato is a good choice for teens who like escapist romance but not the super-sexual stuff. Tuscany, and Florence in particular, provide a beautiful landscape for the action.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about "insta love," in which two characters fall deeply for each other immediately -- a common thing in YA books and movies. Do you think this really happens, or is it an easy storytelling device? Do you think it sets up unrealistic relationship expectations?

Do you think going back and forth in time -- a frequently used plot device in modern novels -- adds tension or interest to the story? Does it play on how well you think you know characters when they're revealed in bits and pieces?

A journal figures prominently in this story. Do you keep a journal? Why, or why not? How would you feel if other people read it?

Book Details

• Author : Jenna Evans Welch
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : Adventures , Friendship , High School
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Simon Pulse
• Publication date : May 3, 2016
• Number of pages : 400
• Available on : Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : May 2, 2016

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Love & gelato

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Love & Gelato

Lina makes a promise to her sick mother that she'll spend the summer before college in Rome, where she falls for the city, the people - and the "gelato". Lina makes a promise to her sick mother that she'll spend the summer before college in Rome, where she falls for the city, the people - and the "gelato". Lina makes a promise to her sick mother that she'll spend the summer before college in Rome, where she falls for the city, the people - and the "gelato".

• Brandon Camp
• Jenna Evans Welch
• Susanna Skaggs
• Tobia De Angelis
• Owen McDonnell
• 108 User reviews
• 18 Critic reviews

Top cast 31

• Lina Emerson
• Lorenzo Ferrazza

• Howard Riley

• Alessandro Albani

• Fleetwood Zach
• Cosimo Albani

• Nonna Lucia

• Cuisine Royale's Chef
• Galleria Fossi Assistant

• Alessandro's Friend
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The book is set in Florence, Italy instead of Rome. Additionally, Lina stayed in a house with a view of a cemetery, instead of the city skyline.
• Goofs Francesca is seen aggressively driving around in Fiat 500e Cabrio. You can hear the engine running at high rpm, in reality this is an electric vehicle and would barely make any noise.

[first lines]

Lina Emerson : [narrating] My mother had told me about a saying in Italy. "Il primo amore si scora mai." You never forget your first love. The irony is, she never mentioned anything about love in her life. Or even Italy, for that matter, until literally the last minute. Like it was all a big mystery or something. Which, it turns out, I guess it kind'a was.

User reviews 108

• meowkmimosa
• Jun 23, 2022
• How long is Love & Gelato? Powered by Alexa
• June 22, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Netflix Site
• الحب والجيلاتو
• Tuscany, Italy
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes
• Dolby Surround 7.1

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Serenereads&drama, "the sweetest summer: a story of love and gelato".

Serene Reads & Dramatic Escapes by Moushmi

"People come to Italy for all sorts of reasons, but when they stay, it’s for the same two things... Love and Gelato."

"Love and Gelato" by Jenna Evans Welch is a captivating novel set in the picturesque city of Florence, Italy. The story follows Lina, a young woman who travels to Italy to fulfill her late mother’s final wish. Through a journey of self-discovery and romance, Lina uncovers secrets from her mother’s past while experiencing the charm and magic of Italy.

Introducing My  Page:

Welcome to Serene Reads & Dramatic Escapes by Moushmi! This is where I share my reflections and reviews on the books and dramas that captivate and inspire. From heartwarming romances to thought-provoking stories, I delve into narratives that offer both solace and adventure. Join me as we explore the worlds within the pages and screens that move us.

Summary of the Book:

Following the death of her mother, Lina Emerson is faced with a poignant task: traveling to Italy to meet her estranged father, Howard, and honor her mother’s dying wish. Once in Florence, Lina discovers her mother’s old journal, which unveils a hidden chapter of her life filled with love, adventure, and profound experiences. Through the journal, Lina learns about her mother’s past romance and begins to understand the complex woman behind the stories. As Lina spends time with her new friend Ren, she follows clues that lead her to deeper connections with her Italian heritage and ultimately to her own journey of self-discovery.

- “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – This quote perfectly encapsulates Lina’s transformative journey. It reflects the novel’s theme of embracing change and finding new paths amid the end of old ones.

- “La notte più bella della mia vita.” – Translating to "The most beautiful night of my life," this Italian phrase highlights the novel’s enchanting and emotionally rich moments. It underscores the profound impact of Lina’s experiences in Florence and her growth throughout the story.

About the Author:

Jenna Evans Welch is a passionate writer whose love for travel and storytelling shines through in her debut novel, "Love and Gelato." Inspired by her time in Florence, Welch crafts vivid and evocative settings that bring her stories to life. Her background in travel and writing allows her to create authentic, immersive experiences for readers, blending romance and adventure with a touch of personal reflection. 

Love and Gelato is a charming and heartfelt novel that masterfully combines romance with the allure of Italy. Jenna Evans Welch’s descriptive prowess transports readers to the sunlit streets of Florence, where every detail enhances the story’s charm. Lina’s journey is both emotionally resonant and inspiring, as she uncovers her mother’s past and navigates her own path to self-discovery. The novel’s exploration of family secrets, personal growth, and the magic of new beginnings makes it a compelling read. With its rich setting and engaging storyline, Love and Gelato is a delightful escape that offers both warmth and depth, making it a perfect choice for those who love stories of romance and discovery set against a beautiful backdrop.

Disclaimer:

The content on Serene Reads & Dramatic Escapes reflects my personal opinions and experiences. All reviews and insights are based on my own observations and preferences

Thank you for joining me in this exploration. If you enjoyed this review, stay tuned for more insights and discussions on books and dramas that inspire and captivate.

Copyright: 

© 2024 Serene Reads & Dramatic Escapes by Moushmi. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s owner is strictly prohibited.

All images used in this post for the book belong to their rightful owners. I do not claim ownership of these images. If you are the owner and wish for them to be removed, please contact me

Contact: For inquiries or feedback, please contact Moushmi at [email protected] or @chatterbox_twetty 

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Love & Gelato Symbols & Objects

The headstones are symbols of death and grief. When Lina arrives in Florence, she is shocked to discover that Howard lives in the middle of a cemetery. No one had mentioned to her that his house was on the grounds of a World War II Memorial for soldiers killed in Italy.

The Journal

The journal is a symbol of secrets and parallels. Lina reads the journal that Hadley kept while she was in Italy with the hopes of learning the truth about her mother’s relationship with Howard. The journal also highlights both similarities in Lina and Hadley’s time in Italy as well as the differences in their visits.

Violets symbolize the unknown. When Sonia gives Lina a pot of violets, she tells Lina that they were Hadley’s favorite flower, a detail of which Lina was unaware. Based on her lack of knowledge...

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Love and Gelato Metaphors and Similes

By jenna evans welch.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Timothy Sexton

Frankenstein

An abundance of references to movies is made throughout this novel. The very first reference comes in the opening paragraph. The first-person narrator is conveying the feeling of one of those days when nothing goes right. “So then you go hurtling into school fifteen minutes late, praying no one will notice that your hair looks like the Bride of Frankenstein’s.” The comparison made in this simile is to the 1935 Universal Studios sequel to the original Frankenstein movie with Boris Karkoff. The specific reference is the title character played by Elsa Lanchester sporting one of the most iconic hairstyles in film history comprised of a high tower of brown hair zig-zags of gray up the side resembling a bolt of lightning. While striking, it is—as the reference suggests—very hard to pull off without drawing undo attention.

At one point, the narrator meets up with a BMW convertible-driving young fresh fellow she somewhat derisively refers to by the nickname “007” who can’t keep his hands off her leg. They are headed in style to a party and the narrator looks once again to pop culture to put things into perspective. “When we finally pulled up to the party, I was shocked. Not because the house looked like Dracula’s castle—of course it did.” Frankenstein’s creature—or, rather his bride—is not only the movie monster that gets referenced through simile. What should be a fairly cool comparison, however, is completely undermined by irony. When the party you borrow your dad’s BMW to drive a girl to is being held in a castle that fails to impress her, it is a pretty fair bet that fantasies of romance are not going to turn out as hoped.

Bruce the Shark

If one comes away from this novel having learned only one thing about its narrator, Lina, it is that she is a young woman who really enjoys a good scare at the movies. First, Frankenstein’s runaway bride and then the ancestral castle of the family Dracula. When Lina first lays eyes on the home where her mother’s old friend Howard lives in Italy, it appears as a lighthouse surrounded by an ocean of graveyard tombstones. This image immediately leads to another simile derived from pop culture cinematic terror. “I knit my fingers in my lap, my stomach dropping as the house got closer and closer. It was like watching Jaws emerge from the depths of the ocean. Duuun dun.”

Excitable Girls

Not all use of similes involves references to scary movies, of course. A particularly memorable example is one that is used to describe to Lina what her mother had been like as a young woman. “Like an exclamation mark in human form. I’d never seen anyone so excited to be doing what they were doing.” The image seems to have made a strong impact on Lina because later in the novel she will return to the punctuation mark in her narrator to craft a metaphor of her own: “Eight hundred exclamation marks went off in my head.” The callback to the description of her mother nearly a hundred pages is a nice bit of subtly drawn connective tissue linking mother and daughter. That link is, of course, a major thematic concern of the story.

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Love and Gelato Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Love and Gelato is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for Love and Gelato

Love and Gelato study guide contains a biography of Jenna Evans Welch, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Love and Gelato
• Love and Gelato Summary
• Character List

Love & Gelato

50 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Before You Read

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-22

Chapters 23-28

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

“The year I spent in Italy meant so much to me, and I want you to have that same experience.”

A dying Hadley wants to ensure that her daughter, now 16, who she knows she will never see grow up, has the chance to undo the mistake she made when she went to Florence—the same experience, but with a different outcome. Make the right choice, she seems to be telling Lina. Choose love.

“How was it possible that someone who hadn’t even met me had managed to put together my perfect bedroom?”

The connection between Howard Mercer and Lina is not biological even though, for most of the book, Lina believes it is. Seeing her perfectly appointed bedroom, set up just for her by a man she’s never met, is her first indication that what ties her to Howard may be more than biology.

“I hated being called quiet. People always said it like it was some kind of deficiency—like just because I didn’t put everything out there right away, I was unfriendly or arrogant. My mom had understood. You may be slow to warm up, but once you do, you light up the whole room.”

The novel is the story of Lina’s coming of age. In that process, she moves away from her childhood identity as aloof, introspective, and unconnected. The experience in Italy opens her up to Howard, to her friends at the new school, to Ren, and ultimately to her mother.

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• Why people have fallen out of love with dating apps

Tinder and Bumble are struggling as singles refuse to pay up

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W hen Tinder , a mobile dating app, launched on college campuses in America in 2012, it quickly became a hit. Although online dating had been around since Match.com, a website for lonely hearts, launched in 1995, it had long struggled to shed an image of desperation. But Tinder, by letting users sift through photos of countless potential dates with a simple swipe, made it easy and fun.

Soon Tinder and its rivals had transformed courtship. A report published last year by the Pew Research Centre found that 30% of American adults had used an online dating service, including more than half of those aged between 18 and 29. One in five couples of that age had met through such a service. Usage surged during the pandemic, as lonely locked-down singles sought out partners. The market capitalisation of Bumble, a rival to Tinder, surged to $13bn on its first day of trading in February 2021. Later that year the value of Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and scores of other dating services, reached nearly $50bn. Today roughly 350m people around the world have a dating app on their phone, up from 250m in 2018, according to Business of Apps, a research firm. In June Tokyo’s government even said it would launch a matchmaking app of its own to pair up singles in the city.

Yet lately online dating has lost its spark. The apps were downloaded 237m times globally last year, down from 287m in 2020. According to Sensor Tower, another research firm, the number of people who use them at least once a month has dwindled from 154m in 2021 to 137m in the second quarter of this year (see chart 1). On August 7th Bumble reported revenue growth of just 3%, year on year, in the quarter from April to June, and lowered its forecast for the full year to 1-2%. Its shares plunged by a third in after-hours trading. On July 30th Match Group reported that its revenue for the same quarter grew by only 4%. Both companies’ market values have cratered since Bumble’s listing (see chart 2). That reflects users’ increasing disillusionment with dating apps, decreasing willingness to pay for them—and growing interest in offline alternatives.

Start with the disillusionment. Apps that once felt fun have, for many, become wellsprings of frustration. The network effects that initially propelled services such as Tinder, in which a widening choice of partners lured in ever more users, have now made them exasperating. Users grumble about spending hours sorting through tens of thousands of profiles. Half of women surveyed by Pew said they felt overwhelmed by the number of messages they received. It doesn’t help that 84% of Tinder users are men. So are 61% of those on Bumble, which is targeted at women. Many users also fret about scams.

Younger adults are growing especially weary of the apps. One survey commissioned last year by Axios, a news site, found that only a fifth of American college students were using them at least once a month. “It’s not fun, it’s so superficial and it’s also just like really exhausting,” laments one youthful influencer on TikTok, a short-video app. “I’m kind of over it,” sums up Wunmi Williams, a 27-year-old who, after years of swiping and matching, has been unable to find a partner through a dating app. In a sign of growing despair, the Marriage Pact, an annual event in which participants are matched with a “backup” spouse should their future romantic endeavours fail, has spread to 88 college campuses across America.

All this helps explain why dating-app developers are struggling to convince users to part with cash—the second reason for their lacklustre performance. In an effort to boost margins, dating apps have been peddling paid upgrades to supplement their lowly ad revenues. Hinge has a separate feed with popular profiles it thinks you might like, but demands that you hand over $3.99 for a “rose” before you can chat with them. Tinder’s paid plans range from $17.99 a month (which gives you unlimited swipes and lets you change your location) to a hefty $499 a month (which lets you see the most popular profiles on the app and message users you haven’t matched with).

Got the ick

Online dating may no longer look desperate, but users seem to worry that paying for it might. The share of people who are willing to spend money on dating apps has been falling. Tinder’s paid users have declined for seven consecutive quarters. Men are more likely to cough up, which may be worsening the feeling common among women of being bombarded by messages on the apps.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the future of dating apps, though, is the growing share of singles looking offline for love. Last year some began wearing an aqua-coloured ring, made by a startup called Pear, to show their openness to being wooed. Thursday, a company that organises in-person events for singles, has expanded its service to roughly 30 cities, from Stockholm to Sydney. Its app works only on Thursday, when the events are held.

The romance is not confined to bars. Running clubs have become a place for athletic types to meet. Cooking classes, too, have become a place to look for partners, says Julia Hartz, the boss of Eventbrite, a ticketing platform. Attendance at its singles events rose 42% between 2022 and 2023. “You are bonding with someone, you’re having an experience, even if they’re not the love of your life,” says Casey Lewis, a blogger on youth culture, of such events.

Dating apps are looking for ways to lure users back. Some are hoping to spice things up with artificial intelligence ( AI ). Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder, recently mused that the future of courtship could involve one person’s AI bot going on “dates” with another’s. One new app, Volar, has begun offering just that.

In time, society might be willing to leave matchmaking to machines—but it is hard to imagine the strategy paying off just yet. A more fruitful approach for dating apps may instead be to focus on narrower markets. Grindr, an app for gay men, continues to grow quickly. So does Feeld, which targets the polyamorous. In the past few years Match Group has launched apps targeted at gay men (Archer), single parents (Stir), ethnic minorities ( BLK , Chispa) and snobs (The League). Revenue from this portfolio of brands grew by 17%, year on year, in the second quarter of 2024.

In addition to offering a smaller pool of partners, such apps also serve as a community for like-minded people. Grindr, for example, acts as a travel guide for tourists looking for gay bars and a hub for information on HIV . The company says its average user sends 50 messages a day, about the same as for WhatsApp, a messaging service. Its success in that regard might explain why Lidiane Jones, the chief executive of Bumble, has said she wants her firm to be known as a “connections company, rather than a dating company”. Pulling off such a rebrand may prove tricky. But love has never been an easy business. ■

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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Swiped out”

Business August 10th 2024

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