Italian Easy Reader: Il Segreto di Julia (Italian Edition)

This could be a good book for studying Italian but needs some editing. Most of the readers here probably have no idea what’s really happening because the titles are missing for where the first person narrative switches from Lei to Lui and vice versa. Not sure if that’s only the Kindle edition but it makes the book unreadable, especially for newbies to Italian. Seems like an easy fix though.

I liked this story. It was exciting and moving. Although there were sad events, reading the story is a great way to learn Italian. I really liked it very much. Also, the author is very nice too.

I actually haven't finished this book yet as I am a slow reader in Italian. However, I have read other Italian Easy Readers and I can say this is the best of the three I have read. It has some suspense, and alternates character point of view. I also find the vocabulary words much more useful than some of the words in previous books. And there is a nice reinforcement of vocabulary and grammar. The dictionary feature in Kindle has gotten better as well. I can recommend this one.

I'm an intermediate Italian learner and I like Cinzia's books in general. This one had a diary format that at times confused me a bit. I tended to mix up two of the male characters in the book at times, which was annoying. It's probably my own fault, but I didn't have this problem with some of her other books.

While the plot is nothing spectacular, the segments which explain certain idiomatic expressions or verb tenses are very helpful. When you connect a good Kindle Italian dictionary and select it as your primary dictionary, reading is effortless. When you aren't always "translating in your head" skill and proficiency come more readily. Her characters are always a little different with odd backgrounds, so while simple to read there is complexity. I recommend these books for all readers. I have read many historical books in the original Italian and it becomes very tedious looking up 50 archaic verbs per page. The odd words one has to look up in these books tend to stick in your mind better.

This was perfect for my purposes because, although written in good Italian it didn't require a dictionary look-up every other word. It succeeded in its purpose.

Accessible Italian for learner at A2-B1 level - no complicated verb tenses or non-frequent vocabulary. Reasonably interesting story to keep you involved. I recommend it as an early Italian reading experience; it builds confidence.

Needed an easy reader to improve vocabulary/spelling. Enjoying the work. Some vocabulary may be from a different dialect but still helps to widen word recognition and familiarize ones self with different ways of saying things in a language that is foreign.

This is not the best book I've read by the author, Cinzia Medaglia. However, it's an easy read and there are notes in boxes about grammar and vocabulary throughout the book. My favourite book by this author is Uccidere per amore e per odio. It's a book of short stories about death. At the end of each chapter the author writes notes about the places mentioned in the book and writes a section on comprehension of the book. I would recommend this book 100%.

I am rather disappointed with this story at about the half-way stage. It is not as well paced as Morte in Maratona. Il Segreto is long-winded and feels repetitive; the plot is taking ages to get anywhere. Some of the English translations in the text are plain wrong and suggest an unfamiliarity with English idiom. For example, .... ho preso al volo il treno .... is given as, I caught on fast. Una carezza - a caress? No, in this context it is a hug.

As a gripping reader for an intermediate level of Italian, perhaps a level above the short articles in your Foundations Italian 2 or whatever, but easier than Agatha Christie, it's perfect. Lots of dialogue and action, and reuse of common words and phrases. If you don't mind suspending disbelief to read a trashy novel and simply enjoy the fact that you c a n read it withoutporing over the dictionary in every sentence, then this is for you. Not every word is in the dictionary anyway. There are occasional little inserts about the location or some vocabulary which are helpful, although their contents do not link to the Italian dictionary in my Kindle.There are places where the writing is too hasty, e.g. a description of someone is inconsistent, which are a bit irritating, including the odd spelling mistake, and the Kindle sometimes makes a hash of formatting, especially when I refer to its Italian dictionary, hence only 4 stars.

Il segreto di Julia is a short story that takes place in Italy and uses plain Italian vocabulary. I think it's ideal for those who have just got on with the language but don't want something super easy like kid's books. The story per sei is interesting and encourages the reading so most people will find it appealing.

This is an excellent and enjoyable way to practise vocabulary and other skills. The writing is kept simple enough for intermediate learners or a bit below like me, but it is still stretching enough to feel worthwhile and the plot and characters held my interest too.