A girl full of courage and hope. A woman who defies the times. Sicily, 1960. As a girl, Oliva is allowed to aim her slingshot at boys. She can run across the street to the village with her brother Cosimino and come home sweaty with dirty knees. But as Oliva grows older, her world changes more and more. The girl becomes a young woman, and women are like a vase, her mother claims. Whoever breaks it, takes it. Oliva must ultimately experience what this means firsthand. When the unspoken system of female oppression in which she lives forces her to marry the man who has abused her, she must decide: Is Oliva ready to pay the price for her rebellion?

Viola Ardone wonderfully conjures up a country and its people, customs, and passions, breathing life into an unforgettable girl in all her intensity, despair, and bravery. A novel that shifts between lightheartedness and tragedy – powerful, captivating, and liberating.