Donna Jo Napoli

While driving in the Italian countryside, eleven-year-old Jackie's father suddenly collapses at the wheel. Fear for her father's life quickly turns to terror when two Italian men kidnap her and drive to their remote home in the countryside. Jackie soon discovers that her captors are actually a family, plagued by a …

Stones in Water is a 1999 Young Adult novel written by Donna Jo Napoli. It is set during World War II and tells the story of two Italian boys, one who's Jewish, who are sent to a work camp. Their struggle to survive, hide the Jewish boy's nationality, and the defeat of one and escape of another is chronicled. The book …

The Smile is one of Donna Jo Napoli's young adult novels. With "spot-on flair for infusing history with coolness Napoli details a slice of the life of Monna Elisabetta, better known as Mona Lisa. While the story is fictional, some important historical figures enter the plot: Leonardo da Vinci and members of the famous …

The story of a teenage Mary Magdalene -- here called Miriam -- is finally told.... When the world goes dark and her mind explodes within her, Miriam's future is shattered. In ancient Israel such seizures make her unclean. If anyone finds out about them, she will be an outcast. Only Abraham -- the son of Hannah, her …