Swimming to Elba

A sensually charged debut novel about two girls growing up fast in a failing industrial town on the coast of Italy.

Anna and Francesca are on the brink of everything: high school, adulthood, and the edge of ambition in their provincial town. It's summer in Piombiono, Italy, and in their skimpy bathing suits, flaunting their newly acquired curves, the girls suddenly have everyone in their thrall. This power opens their imagination to a destiny beyond Piombino; the resort town of Elba is just a ferry ride away and yet they've never dared to go. Maybe the future is waiting for them there, or somewhere beyond.

When their friendship suffers a blow, the girls set off on their own only to discover that their budding sexuality takes them further than they expect, though not as far as their dreams. As their choices take them to a painful crossroads, the girls must reconnect if they have any hope of escaping their small town destinies.