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Poinsettia Girl
- Author
- Jennifer Wizbowski
- Narrator
- Shakira Shute
- Publisher
- Audio Sorceress LLC
- Publish Date
- 19 May 2026
- Run Time
- 9 hours 22 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Venice, 1710
Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.
Ten-year-old Agata’s world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she’s ever known.
Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures—not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.
Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life—a return to the old neighborhood she’s longed for and a home she barely remembers. Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?
Critics Review
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“Wizbowski’s prose is articulate and vivid. Readers will appreciate the quickened pace of the final chapter and the surprise ending.”
Kirkus Reviews
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“Wizbowski’s writing is tender and lyrical, vividly portraying the heart of a child and her gradual transformation into a woman—and an artist, who realizes that her work ‘has taken away my twisted feelings and hurt and hurled them somewhere they can’t taunt me anymore.’”
Publishers Weekly
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“An atmospheric book full of strong, vividly drawn female characters.”
Historical Novel Society
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“Wizbowski’s prose drifts easily between the concrete and the dreamlike, between the outer structures of Venetian life and the inner tremors of a girl learning to inhabit her own voice.”
The Historical Fiction Company
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Jennifer Wizbowski
- Narrator
- Shakira Shute
- Duration
- 9 hours 22 minutes
- Release Date
- 19 May 2026
- ISBN
- 9798228967694
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Audio Sorceress LLC
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age
Synopsis
Venice, 1710Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.Ten-year-old Agata’s world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she’s ever known.Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures—not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life—a return to the old neighborhood she’s longed for and a home she barely remembers. Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?
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