The book that I chose for the Writer Igniter Challenge is The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames.
The protagonist of this novel is the title character, Stella Fortuna. She is born into an ordinary family in the small town of Ievoli, which is located in the region of southern Italy known as Calabria. Stella’s circumstances seem normal to her, but to others, she is a larger than life character. As the title implies, Stella seems to cheat death. By the time she is 10, she has cheated death at least twice. To some in her family and town, they feel she has extraordinary luck, good or bad, no one can agree upon.
Stella is also a cross between protector and survivor. Not only does she survive the brushes with death, but she survives the rough life she and her family lead in Italy. She is barley educated and goes to work at a very young age. She works to help her family because her father has left them to live in America.
Stella is also a protector. She protects herself, her family and most importantly, she is her younger sister’s protector. When her sister Tina was born, her mother told her that Stella needed to look out for Tina always. Stella took that directive to heart. She was always protecting Tina, as well as her mother Assunta.
Stella is also trying to protect herself. Stella has known since she was a little girl, she never wanted to be like the other women in her family. She never wanted to get married and have children. She wanted to leave an independent life. She wants to break away from tradition, but she finds obstacles constantly being thrown at her.