Belladonna

A coming-of-age novel about love and obsession, set in a silent convent in 1950s Italy
Isabella is worldly, alluring and brazen. Everything that Bridget is not. So when they both receive an offer to study at a silent convent in Northern Italy, Bridget is thrilled. This is her ticket away from Connecticut and a chance to spend nine whole months with her glamorous and unpredictable best friend. But as the year rolls on in decadent isolation, Bridget grows increasingly fearful that she will lose Isabella's affections - and the more desperate she gets, the greater the lengths she will go to keep her.
Belladonna is a hypnotizing, sun-drenched coming-of age story of friendship and obsession, desire and betrayal, and the lies we tell in order to belong.