Magnifico
 

Magnifico

Could life get more embarrassing?

Mariangela longs to play the piano; but when her Italian immigrant family arranges for accordion lessons instead, she can_t contain her disappointment. Who wants to be strapped to such a heavy, ugly old thing? But before she knows it, a mortified Mariangela is dragging the old accordion in a red wagon through the streets of Vancouver to her lessons. Try as she might, Mariangela can_t get the accordion to sing for her. Even her accordion teacher, whose two missing fingers and handsome looks fascinate her, cannot find a way to inspire his pupil. But he can tell stories, and through his own sometimes harrowing experiences, Mariangela gradually comes to understand both her family_s determination to start life in a new country and her own capacity to persevere.

Author Victoria Miles drew from her mother_s own misadventures with the accordion to create a rich tapestry of Italian immigrant life in Vancouver during the thirties. Funny, sad, and ultimately inspiring, Magnifico is a coming of age story that will stay with the reader for a very long time.