Valley of Saint Anne
Valley of Saint Anne A story of love, loss and forgiveness.
Deirdre Beyer, 12, is inspired to keep a diary when she reads Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl. Dee Dee writes faithfully to Anne, as Anne did to her imaginary friend Kitty, and her diary entries reveal an inquisitive and insightful young mind as she shares the happenings in her life.

Himba Pond Dance
Trey Hollinswood, 15, and his thirteen-year-old sister Kim are dealing with a lot: Their parents separate; the bank forecloses on their home; they stay with their mom in a homeless shelter and then in the home of a customer, Walt, she meets at work. The atmosphere at Walt’s is tense and life for Trey and Kim is made more difficult because they’re forced to share a bedroom

A Girl with a Bad Reputation
Fourteen-year-old Colleen Hanrahan knows what boys want and is willing to give it to them — on her own terms. An intelligent and proud young woman, Colleen tries to remain above her bad reputation and tells herself it doesn’t matter what other people think about her promiscuous behavior, as long as her father — a successful, bullying criminal defense attorney and controlling, bad-tempered alcoholic — doesn’t hear about it.


MEET THE AUTHOR
DAVE GIOIA
I was born in 1950 and the decade of the ‘60s was an important period in my development as a person and a writer. I began writing at age five and continued writing through high school. I majored in English/Creative Writing at Emerson College in Boston, where I studied with Russell Banks. After graduating from Emerson, I attended Boston University’s one-year Masters Creative Writing Program and studied with Donald Barthelme and Dan Wakefield. I was a short story fiction writer at the time and had my work published in The Emerson Review and Ploughshares.
Valley of Saint Anne A story of love, loss and forgiveness — Deirdre Beyer, 12, is inspired to keep a diary when she reads Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl. Dee Dee writes faithfully to Anne, as Anne did to her imaginary friend Kitty, and her diary entries reveal an inquisitive and insightful young mind as she shares the happenings in her life: Changes in her body and her growing curiosity about sex; her first encounter with a boy; her father's tragic death; her mother's loneliness; her desire to have a Quinceañera; and the confidence and courage she gains learning to surf.
Trey Hollinswood, 15, and his thirteen-year-old sister Kim are dealing with a lot: Their parents separate; the bank forecloses on their home; they stay with their mom in a homeless shelter and then in the home of a customer, Walt, she meets at work. The atmosphere at Walt’s is tense and life for Trey and Kim is made more difficult because they’re forced to share a bedroom. Like all young people, they have issues; Trey his burgeoning sex drive and Kim the fact that she has no interest in acting or looking girlish and is sometimes mistaken for a boy.
Fourteen-year-old Colleen Hanrahan knows what boys want and is willing to give it to them — on her own terms. An intelligent and proud young woman, Colleen tries to remain above her bad reputation and tells herself it doesn’t matter what other people think about her promiscuous behavior, as long as her father — a successful, bullying criminal defense attorney and controlling, bad-tempered alcoholic — doesn’t hear about it. She can count on her mother — a family law attorney with whom she shares a secret — to come to her defense, if needed. Born and raised in Newburgh, NY, Colleen is proud of her birthplace and its historical importance.
“A Girl with a Bad Reputation follows 16-year-old Colleen as she wends her way through the turmoil of coming of age in a time of social change and unrest. Her sexual exploits are numerous and sometimes lead to more questions than answers for Colleen. A difficult, but often unexpectedly fun path unfolds, and as the story progresses, we watch Colleen mature as her understanding of life and love grows.“
Goodreads Reader Review
“A great read to get an understanding of how reputations can be affected with and without our desire for them to.Choices have consequences, but they don’t have to be lifelong. A wonderful read.“
Amazon Reader Review
“Dave Gioia’s substantial debut novel, Valley of Saint Anne, tells an unsettling story in an easygoing style that belies the gravity of the themes he addresses…Gioia unflinchingly examines topics often considered taboo for adult discussion, such as domestic violence, alcoholism, and incest…Gioia manages to show a difference between sexually abusive relationships and healthy relationships that nonetheless necessitate breaking some of society’s rules.“
Foreward Clarion Reviews

