- Books
- Events
- Children & Teens
- Classes & Trips
- Current Classes
- How to Read a Book
- Writing for Middle Grade and YA Audiences (Mixed Level)
- Ladies Detective Fiction 2.0
- Writing Picture Books for Young Children
- American Idiom III: Lucille Clifton & Natasha Trethewey
- Journal Keeping: The Art Of Creating A Journal You Won't Throw Away
- The Nonfiction Journey: From the Idea to the Page
- Paris: A Literary Adventure
- Parler D.C. (French Conversation)
- Knit Lit Challenge
- Making a Photo Book
- This Green City
- Summer Classes
- Fitzgerald and Hemingway: The "Great" 1920s
- Fish Without Bicycles: The Second Women’s Movement in America, 1963-1983
- Hungry for Words: An Inquiry Into the Art of Food Writing
- Right Brain Writing: Guided Prompts
- Graham Greene’s Spy Trio
- Reading the Short Story
- Finding Your Narrative: A Poetry Workshop for Beginners and Intermediates
- Saul Bellow: Deconstructing a Great American Novelist
- Classes for Children & Teens
- Trips
- Current Classes
- Book Printing
- Gifts | CDs | DVDs
- Membership & Community
- About Us
Description
I'm marooned.
Abandoned.
Left to rot in boarding school . . .
Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.
Ick.
There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.
Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.
But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.
About the Author
Adriana Trigiani is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. The author of the bestselling Big Stone Gap series, Very Valentine; Brava, Valentine; Lucia, Lucia; The Queen of the Big Time; andRococo, she has also written the best-selling memoir Don't Sing at the Table as well as the young adult novels Viola in Reel Life and Viola in the Spotlight. Her books have been published in 36 countries around the world. She has written and will direct the big screen version of her first novel, Big Stone Gap. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Praise for Viola in Reel Life…
“A cold, snowy winter, a ghost mystery, kisses, cookies, roommates, a video diary, a film competition, and Viola’s crack-me-up-every time observations all make this an endearing coming of age story…exceptionally fun.”
-Richie's Picks
“A sweet, character-driven story. Viola is very real, as are her feelings, hopes, desires, and dreams.”
-School Library Journal
“This book reminds each of us that a fish out of water really can find a new pond! Read it to remind yourself that your friends really do teach you something new every day.”
-Justine Magazine
“Sarah Dessen for middle school…Trigiani deftly shows that teenage girls can be independent, have positive self-images, and be happy.”
-Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“Best-selling adult author Trigiani nicely captures boarding-school bonding, adolescent female insecurities, and current teen trends. Fun, breezy, and full of subtle life lessons, this is a good follow-up or prequel to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.”
-Booklist
“Trigiani (Big Stone Gap) takes the familiar boarding school milieu and gives it some welcome nuance and a refreshingly grounded feel in her debut YA work. [She] offers a realistic look at the ever–shifting bonds of friendship and the adjustment to one’s first taste of life away from home.”
-Publishers Weekly






