At heart, Faith DiNapoli is a good Catholic girl. She's memorized all the prayers and hymns. She daydreams about her First Communion. She's pretty sure Jesus loves her. But she's angry. Angry with her father for leaving, her mother for never going anywhere, and her dysfunctional siblings — just because they're around. And though she knows the Bible says the meek are blessed, Faith can't help but covet beautiful things and try to obtain them in any way possible. So Faith lies, cheats, and steals. In fact, she breaks almost every one of the Commandments, mostly by accident. At the same time, she grapples with the girl she thinks she should be, the family she's supposed to be a part of, and the imaginary life she may never live.

In Tempting Faith DiNapoli, Faith does more than grow from innocent eight to headstrong eighteen. Faith struggles with her new bad habits, fends off bad boys who want more than she should give, and contemplates a future that looks worse than her mother's past and present.

The DiNapolis are mismatched, broke, and dysfunctional, but they fight with and love one another with equal parts ferocity and devotion, laughter and tears. All the while, Faith prays for a happy ending. Or at least for something not too, too bad.

One part Beverly Donofrio, one part Frank McCourt, Tempting Faith DiNapoli is a charming, fresh, bighearted debut.

Adriana Trigiani

author of Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, and Milk Glass Moon

Lisa Gabriele writes with deep meaning, truth, and humor in her wonderful debut novel about growing up. I loved the world Gabriele created, rich in detail and emotion. Faith DiNapoli is a delight: her struggles are universal and her aim is true.

Louisa Ermelino

author of The Black Madonna and The Sisters Mallone

Faith DiNapoli is my kind of girl: tough, honest, and trying hard to be a good Catholic while shoplifting cute clothes, lusting after her neighbor, and reading her mother's diary. Gabriele's created a no-holds-barred portrait of hardscrabble family life and a character who will win your heart and break it too. A wise, witty, and masterful debut.

Chuck Klosterman

author of Fargo Rock City

Every guy has this fantasy about meeting a nice Catholic girl who's clever and smart and playful, only to discover that — secretly, behind closed doors — her mind is just a little bit dirty. Lisa Gabriele is the literary incarnation of that fantasy.

Smart, witty, and emotionally generous, this charming coming-of-age novel explores a Catholic girl's crises of confidence and faith with graceful prose--an accomplished, big-hearted debut.

Lisa Gabriele is a television producer, cinematographer, and writer. Her work has appeared on the CBC, the History Channel and the Life Network. Her writing has appeared in Vice Magazine and The Washington Post, among other publications, and she is a frequent contributor to Nerve magazine. Gabriele lives in Toronto's Little Italy.