Elizabeth Street Audiobook

" Loved this book, sad its over.. "

" This story was based on true events in the author's family. Giovanna immigrated to America from Italy in the early 1900's after the death of her first husband. In America, Giovanna has to deal with the Black Hand, the first Italian mafia. "

" As an 100% Italian who is currently living in Hoboken. I really felt a connection to this book. It made me want to research my own family story. This book was captivating. "

" I'd say this is a solid 3.5 stars. I liked the story but found it ran long in places. "

" Giovanna was so interesting to me. She's a strong woman who just keeps fighting. And in such tough circumstances. At first, I wasn't going to read this book, but I'm so glad I did! Thanks to Connie for postponing book club & Ellin for lending me the book! "

" DNF 40%, not holding my interest. "

" Really enjoyed reading this family account of immigration to New York from Italy -- having been in Sicily this spring it was interesting to recognize place names and to read about the mafia - The Black Hand -- that the early immmigrants dealt with. Fascinating family history, good research, well written. "

" Great fictional account of the author's family history. I loved it! "

" liked the history of little italy/black hand. found the story telling a bit clumsy and slow. "

" I got a little bored with it...I think it has to do with the fact that I didn't have long periods of time to read, so I felt I was constantly trying to figure out where I was in the story and who was who. "

" Interesting story of life for an Italian immigrant at the turn of the century. This story is based on actual event's in the author's family. The story holds your interest and is quite informative as well. "

" An interesting look at the experiences of Italian immigrants to New York at the turn of the century -- based on the author's family's experiences. "

" Loved this story! A must read for history buffs! "

" I was engrossed in the story and enjoyed the quick read. It was written well enough to supply all the necessary details for a background and to keep a story going without any questions. Overall enjoyable. "

" Surprisingly a good read! "

" Good book. Kinda an Italian version of "These is My Words." "

" This book roped me in - I couldn't put it down. I was very surprised and interested to learn that it's based on a true story. "

" Great read, esp. is there's "Italian" in your life. "

" 3.5. good, but nothing exiciting "

" This was a nice, quick read. Good summer book about an Italian family at the turn of the last century and their trials and tribulations in New York City. "

" Since my forte in high school was 'Mafia Studies' instead of American Government, this one caught my eye while on the freebie list for Kindle. I was not disappointed...felt like a precourser to The Godfather. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. "

" Enjoyed the story. Mostly enjoyed getting a feel for the Italian immigration into the US, turn of the century and what that was like for them. I had no idea there was an earthquake/tsunami in southern Italy in the early 20th Century. "

" The second half of this book was not as good as the first, and the ending left a LOT to be desired. Too bad, because it had such potential! "

" This book was written for me. Turn of the century NYC Italian immigrants trying to protect their family from the Black Hand, the pre-cursor to the Mafia. This is beautiful, grimy, pure heroic historical fiction. This book was written for me. "

" I thought this book was a really good read! Would recommend it without a doubt. Call it cliche if you will, not everything I read has to be erudite! "

" Great book. Couldn't put it down. "

" Meh. Didn't really live up to the hype for me. "

" Very interesting immigrant perspective - really enjoyed the descriptions and details (once they were reunited with their families after Ellis Island, what happened?) "

" Political strife sends Italian immigrants to New York at the turn of the 20th centure. This novel follows one woman's story. I enjoyed the book and the descriptions of immigrants becoming American while trying to cling to their past loyalties. "

" Within a year, I will totally forget that I read this book. "

" Some parts were interesting especially about the "black hand"which I knew little about but on the whole I found the story to be disjointed . "

" Pretty good. I learned a lot. The writer definitely did her research. Giovanna was one tough woman!! "

" A touching story of Italina immigrants in America. Well worth the time. "

" Enjoyed this Italian immigrant tale. Starts slow but you really love the main character by the end. "

" Learn a lot about Italian Mafia! The author struggled to describe the main character emotions in depth and concentrated more on the outside events. "

" I thought this book was very well written and it pulled me right in. I felt like I was given a better perspective of what life was like for an immigrant, and I appreciated that perspective. The story itself was gripping and learning about The Black Hand was fascinating. Quite a read. "

" I enjoyed the story - especially when I realized it was a true story. However, I found the jumping back and forth from the present to the past confusing. When the author switched time periods I found it hard to figure out who was whom. Good, I'm glad I read it, but fell short of great. "

" While it took a bit for me to get into this book and I thought the end could have been tightened up, overall it was an interesting story, more so because it is based on real events. "

" Amazing book. It started out a little slow, but turned out to be an excellent read. "

" A must-read if you're at all interested in immigrant families-I couldn't put it down. "

" This was really interesting and I loved that it was based on this woman's own family experience. I felt it took away from the story to jump around in time because you knew the outcome of the story before getting to it yourself. "

" good research history, story seems stilted. "