In many ways, Florence itself is a character in the stories of both Lina and Hadley. Take any of these three spots in the city that are key to the emotional growth of both characters and explore the relationship between the spot and its respective impact on the mother and daughter: The Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, or the 400-step stone staircase at the Campanile di Giotto.

How does the novel utilize Matteo Rossi, Ren’s father back in Texas, and Howard Mercer to explore The Definition of a Father? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.

The story has two first-person narrators. What does the novel gain or lose by dividing the narration between the mother and daughter? How does Hadley’s journal help Lina understand her own romantic dilemma? How does the journal help bring Lina closure over her mother’s death?