Foreword Firsts 2013 Book Awards Finalist.
When high school senior Jay Bonifacio finds her grandmother brutally murdered in their small-town home, the scar left by the death of her parents years earlier is ripped open. She is devastated, but she is not nearly as terrified as she should be. Jay is a Strega. Like her mother and grandmother, she is a descendant of the original Strega of ancient Etruria—gifted women of the woods bestowed with godly power, and the world’s first witches. With the truth withheld from her all her life, Jay is blindsided when her power is unbound. Demons are coming for her. They killed the people she loved most to get to her, and they won’t rest until she is dead. Forced to embrace her identity if only to survive, Jay uncovers a past life when her ruthless enemy’s hatred for her was born, and she rediscovers an eternal love that has burned throughout lifetimes. Fighting for her life, she is drawn back into an ancient battle between the virtuous and the wicked that threatens to destroy her and all of humankind.
Strega is a fast-paced paranormal thriller with a strong female protagonist. Jay is a modern heroine that is forced on an arduous journey of self-discovery. As she reawakens to her destiny as a Strega, lifetimes of truth descend upon her. To right the wrongs of the past, to protect all that is good, and to reclaim an epic love she has lost again and again across ages, Jay digs deep to find her true power and faces a seemingly undefeatable enemy.
Much exists beneath the surface of Jay’s adventure. Demons and death traps are multi-dimensional. On the surface, they are terrifying fun that takes you out of your reality and tosses you into a fantasy world. But under the covers, they represent very real struggle. We all have things we fear, things we run from, things we want to slay, things that cause us pain. Heartbreak, limitations, disease, death. And Jay faces these challenges, navigating through the storm with courage and strength. She doesn’t give up without a major fight. And it’s because of her determination to overcome such staggering adversity that her true power blossoms.