{"id":18322,"date":"2025-02-24T18:24:39","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T23:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?p=18322"},"modified":"2025-04-10T18:54:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T22:54:33","slug":"february-2025-american-student-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/february-2025-american-student-blogs\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2025 American Student Blogs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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My Favorite Books<\/b><\/p>

By Ellie Kim<\/i><\/p>

When I am reading, I feel emotions of peace and tranquility, so I am able to fully relax. Reading allows me to extend my imagination and I feel genuine happiness when I read. Usually, I enjoy reading in the night or when it is raining because this is the time where I can have the most peace. An author that I love is Shannon Messenger and her book series, \u201cThe Keeper of the Lost Cities\u201d. This series reminds me of my childhood and of how much happiness these series brings me each time I read it! Her writing changes my view of the world and I realize that it will remain in my childhood memories forever. This story is about a girl and her discovery of a new world and her newfound supernatural powers. The stories in these books are very intricate and have deep meanings while participating in exciting adventures.\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>

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Another book series that I enjoyed reading was \u201cPercy Jackson\u201d by Rick Riordan. This story is about a boy, the son of a Greek God who goes on fun adventures to restore peace. This book series is my favorite because it is very interesting and it teaches me about the gods of the Greek.<\/p>

Traduzione Italiana<\/span><\/p>

Quando io leggo, io sento molto tranquilla e pacifica e mi rilasso. I libri danno sentimenti di felicit\u00e0 e la mia immaginazione cresce quando io leggo. Di solito, mi piace leggere di notte e quando piove perch\u00e9 \u00e8 calmo e questo tempo \u00e8 il primo di io dormo. Mi piace una scrittrice che si chiama \u201cShannon Messenger\u201d e lei scrive la serie di \u201cKeeper of the Lost Cities\u201d. Con il libro serie, ricordo la scuola elementare e io sento molta gioia. Con la sua scrittura, cambia la mia vita perch\u00e9 della memoria dura per sempre. La storia riguarda una bambina e lei cerca per una nuova vita. Le storie sono molto intricate e hanno buon significato e senso. Le storie hanno un’avventura emozionante.\u00a0<\/p>

Mi piace anche uno scrittore che si chiama \u201cRick Riordan\u201d e lui scrive la serie di \u201cPercy Jackson\u201d. La storia \u00e8 riguarda un bambino e lui \u00e8 figlio di un greco dio. Lui va un avventuroso divertente e pauroso. Questo serie \u00e8 il mio preferito perch\u00e9 \u00e8 molto interessante e insegna di mitologia greco.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

About the Author<\/b><\/p>

Ciao ragazzi! My name is Ellie Kim and I attend Cresskill High School in Cresskill, New Jersey. I am a freshman currently taking Italian II honors with Signorina Zoino and I strive to speak Italian fluently in the future in order to learn and communicate with others. Aside from my studies, I love to play and listen to music and I also enjoy traveling with my family!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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American and Italian Literature<\/b><\/p>

I like to read, and my favorite genre is fiction. In English literature, I like the writers Marie Lu, Ali Benjamin, and Alex Aster. Marie Lu is the author of Legend, a dystopian book. This is a book I read in 7th grade. It is the first of a series, and after 7th grade, I read the series’ second, third, and fourth books. \"\"Ali Benjamin is the author of The Thing About Jellyfish. This is not the type of book I read normally, but I tried, and I love the book! It is significant and it made me think a lot. Finally, Alex Aster is famous for her book Lightlark. I read Lightlark during 8th grade. It is fictional and has magic, which I love to read. These books gave me creativity in my writing because I write fictional stories; I have published two novels! In Italian literature, I like Elena Ferrante.\"\" She is a famous author – she is the author of My Brilliant Friend. I read it last summer. The genres of the book are coming-of-age and fiction. The book sparked a strong interest in Italian history, and now, I love learning about Italy!\u00a0<\/p>

Traduzione Italiana<\/b><\/p>

Mi piace leggere, e il mio genere preferito \u00e8 il fantasy. In letteratura inglese, mi piacciono gli scrittori Marie Lu, Ali Benjamin, e Alex Aster. Mari Lu \u00e8 l\u2019autrice di Legend, un libro distopico. Questo \u00e8 un libro che ho letto in seconda media. \u00c8 il primo della serie e, dopo la seconda media, ho letto il secondo, il terzo, e il quarto libro della serie. Ali Benjamin \u00e8 l\u2019autrice di The Thing About Jellyfish. Questo non \u00e8 il tipo di libro che leggo normalmente, ma l\u2019ho provato, e l\u2019ho amato! \u00c8 molto significativo e mi ha fatto riflettere molto. Infine, Alex Aster \u00e8 famosa per il suo libro Lightlark. Ho letto Lightlark durante la terza media. \u00c8 un libro fantasy con la magia, che amo leggere. Questi libri mi hanno dato creativit\u00e0 per la mia scrittura, perch\u00e9 scrivo libri fantasy; ho pubblicato due libri! In letteratura italiana, mi piace Elena Ferrante. \u00c8 un\u2019autrice famosa: \u00e8 l\u2019autrice di L\u2019amica Geniale. L\u2019ho letto l\u2019estate scorsa. I generi del libro sono il romanzo di formazione e il realismo. Il libro mi ha suscitato un forte interesse per la storia italiana, e adesso amo imparare sull\u2019Italia!\u00a0<\/p>

About the Author<\/b><\/p>

Hailey Chung is a freshman in Signorina Zoino\u2019s Italian II Honors course at Cresskill High School. She wants to pursue Italian studies throughout high school and is interested in continuing them during college. Outside of school, she likes to swim, write, and listen to true crime podcasts.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mountain Stories<\/strong>
By Gabriel Harmetz<\/em>
When they want to relax, most people will head to a beach resort. Others, like me, prefer the mountains, with their more complex charm. In this case, the reward is not immediate, but is achieved through one\u2019s effort; for example, climbing up steep paths in summer, or skiing down icy trails in winter.\u00a0<\/p>

Loving the mountains is a bit like loving cats — beautiful creatures, but not particularly docile and often unpredictable. It means going for the challenge: if we manage to overcome difficulties, we will be rewarded with breathtaking views, and almost feel that we can touch the infinite.<\/p>

Vacation is also the only time when I have the energy to read fiction that has not been assigned at school. In the past two winters, I enjoyed shopping in cozy little bookstores in the Italian Alps, choosing novels set in the very regions that I was visiting. That\u2019s where I discovered some Italian authors that I would like to recommend to my fellow mountain lovers (I read them in Italian, but if you prefer, they are available in English translation.)<\/p>

“Resto Qui” is a novel by Marco Balzano, set in a little mountain town in Alto Adige, a region that Italy took from Austria at the end of WWI. In the 1930s, the Fascist government banned the German language and imposed Italian. The story’s protagonist is a school teacher, Trina. After losing her teaching job, she organizes clandestine lessons to allow the local kids to keep learning their native German.<\/p>

Another excellent book is “The Eight Mountains,” by Paolo Cognetti. It\u2019s the story of the friendship between an affluent boy from Milan, and a working-class boy from a little Alpine village, who meet in the summer. By experiencing the mountains together, they build a deep and long-lasting relationship despite their socioeconomic differences.<\/p>

Last but not least, I\u2019ll recommend a great thriller: “Pista Nera” by Antonio Manzini. A crabby deputy commissioner from Rome, recently transferred to Val d\u2019Aosta, has to solve a murder case involving a corpse that is found buried under the snow on a black diamond ski trail.\u00a0<\/p>

If you don\u2019t feel like reading, “Le Otto Montagne” was also adapted into a movie that should be available with English subtitles on Amazon Prime, and so was Pista Nera, one of the episodes of the TV series “Rocco Schiavone – Ice Cold Murders”<\/p>

Traduzione Italiana<\/b><\/p>

C\u2019\u00e8 chi prenota una vacanza al mare quando vuole rilassarsi. Altri, come me, sono pi\u00f9 attratti dalla montagna, il cui fascino \u00e8 completamente diverso: non ti aspetta pronta, come la spiaggia, ma va conquistata con la fatica: percorrendo sentieri ripidi d\u2019estate o scendendo lungo discese ghiacciate d\u2019inverno.<\/p>

Amare la montagna \u00e8 un po\u2019 come preferire i gatti, creature poco obbedienti e spesso imprevedibili. Vuol dire scegliere la sfida: se riusciamo a superare le difficolt\u00e0, alla fine saremo ripagati da vedute fantastiche e dalla sensazione di poter toccare l\u2019infinito.\u00a0
Le vacanze sono l\u2019unico momento in cui ho tempo di leggere narrativa che non sia stata assegnata dalla scuola, e negli ultimi due anni mi sono divertito a far shopping in piccole librerie sulle Alpi, scegliendo romanzi ambientati nei posti che visitavo.\u00a0<\/p>

Proprio l\u00ec ho scoperto alcuni autori italiani che mi sento di consigliare a chi come me ama la montagna (io li ho letti in italiano, ma se preferite sono stati tradotti anche in inglese). \u201cResto qui\u201d di Marco Balzano si svolge in un paesino dell\u2019Alto Adige, una regione che l\u2019Italia port\u00f2 via all\u2019Austria alla fine della prima guerra mondiale. Negli anni trenta il governo fascista mise al bando la lingua tedesca per imporre l\u2019italiano. La protagonista, una maestra, viene cacciata dalla scuola ma riesce ad organizzare delle lezioni segrete per permettere ai bambini
del paese di mantenere anche la propria lingua d\u2019origine.<\/p>

Un altro bellissimo libro \u00e8 \u201cLe otto montagne\u201d di Paolo Cognetti, una storia di amicizia fra un ragazzo di Milano e uno di un piccolo paese sulle Alpi che si conoscono durante l\u2019estate e proprio attraverso la montagna stabiliscono un rapporto profondo e durevole nonostante le
differenze sociali.<\/p>

Per finire, vi consiglio un ottimo giallo: \u201cPista nera\u201d di Antonio Manzini. Il protagonista, un vicequestore romano trasferito in Val d\u2019Aosta di recente, deve risolvere il caso di un cadavere rinvenuto sepolto dalla neve nel mezzo di una pista da sci.\u00a0<\/p>

Se non avete voglia di leggere, da \u201cLe otto montagne\u201d \u00e8 stato tratto anche un film che dovrebbe essere disponibile con sottotitoli in inglese su Amazon Prime, come anche \u201cPista nera\u201d, uno degli episodi della serie di Manzini \u201cRocco Schiavone\u201d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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