The golden hour

the long version

"A young Italian woman risks her life to defy the injustice surrounding her in Margaret Wurtele's The Golden Hour, a touching novel of forbidden love in war-torn Italy.... It is autumn 1943 when German forces invade the peaceful vineyards and olive groves of Giovanna Bellini's village in Tuscany. At first, the seventeen-year-old finds herself fascinated by the dashing Nazi officers. She has yet to come face-to-face with the harsh realities of war. Her life changes when her brother joins the resistance and recruits her to smuggle food. What begins as a lark takes a drastic turn when she's asked to hide a wounded freedom fighter, for Mario Rava is not just a partisan--he's also a Jew. As Giovanna helps Mario heal, their bond deepens. But the world around them is in upheaval, and terrible truths are slowly being revealed--truths that will endanger countless lives, as well as the love that has grown between them..."--