Author Guide | BookFairy
📖 About Paola Peretti
Paola Peretti is an Italian author best known for her internationally acclaimed debut novel, The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree (2018), a moving story about childhood, courage, friendship and learning to face an uncertain future.
Born near Mantua, Italy, in 1986, Peretti grew up in the province of Verona. She studied literature and philosophy before pursuing publishing and journalism. She has worked as a freelance journalist and taught Italian to immigrant children.
Her writing is particularly sensitive to the emotional experiences of young people. Rather than presenting difficult circumstances through simple lessons, Peretti creates characters whose fears, hopes, relationships and everyday experiences feel deeply human.
Her debut novel was inspired in part by her own experience of Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that causes progressive vision loss.
Through her fiction, she explores themes of resilience, empathy, identity, family relationships and the importance of finding meaning even when life takes an unexpected direction.
🌸 The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree
Original Italian title: La distanza tra me e il ciliegio
First published: 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Children’s Literature
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree introduces Mafalda, a young girl who is gradually losing her sight because of Stargardt disease.
As her vision deteriorates, Mafalda begins measuring the distance from which she can still see the cherry tree in her schoolyard.
The tree becomes a powerful symbol of everything she fears losing.
Yet Mafalda’s story is about much more than her illness. It is also about friendship, family, imagination and the gradual discovery that life can remain meaningful even when familiar ways of experiencing the world begin to change.
Through Mafalda’s perspective, Paola Peretti explores a frightening situation without reducing her young protagonist to her diagnosis.
The novel was first published in Italy by Rizzoli in 2018 and subsequently reached readers internationally.
🌳 Mafalda’s Story — Reading Order
1. The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree (2018)
Original title: La distanza tra me e il ciliegio
The opening novel introduces Mafalda, her gradual vision loss and her efforts to understand and prepare for the changes ahead.
2. Io, Filippo e l’albero di ciliegie (2024)
Original publication: Giunti Editore, 2024
The sequel returns to Mafalda several years later.
Now thirteen and blind, she continues navigating friendship, family difficulties and the emotional uncertainties of growing older.
Her relationship with Filippo becomes especially important as she begins recognising new feelings and confronting changes in the people around her.
Reading recommendation: Start with The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree before continuing with Io, Filippo e l’albero di ciliegie.
📚 Other Books by Paola Peretti
La brigata delle cinque sorelle (2021)
Publisher: Rizzoli
This novel explores family memory, relationships between generations and the importance of uncovering stories that might otherwise be forgotten.
The narrative follows Cecilia, a young woman raised among the women of her family, as she investigates a mystery connected to their past.
The novel addresses themes of identity, memory, loss and the bonds between family members.
Se le stelle non tornano (2025)
Publisher: Giunti Editore**
This novel introduces Desideria, a young teenager struggling with loneliness, family relationships and unsettling changes in her life.
Elements of the supernatural become part of a story exploring sisterhood, emotional connection and the importance of understanding those closest to us.
✨ What Makes Paola Peretti’s Writing Special?
❤️ Emotional Honesty
Peretti does not avoid difficult subjects.
Her characters encounter fear, uncertainty, illness and loss, but their experiences are portrayed with compassion and emotional sensitivity.
🌱 Resilience Without Simplistic Answers
Her stories acknowledge that courage does not mean being fearless.
Characters often learn to live with situations they cannot control, finding strength through relationships and gradual changes in perspective.
👧 Authentic Young Characters
Peretti’s younger protagonists are not defined entirely by the challenges they face.
They remain curious, stubborn, imaginative and emotionally complex, with ordinary concerns alongside extraordinary difficulties.
🌸 Everyday Details and Powerful Symbols
Small objects, familiar places and everyday experiences often carry deeper emotional meanings in her fiction.
In The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree, the schoolyard cherry tree becomes an especially memorable symbol of change, fear and hope.
📖 BookFairy Reviews
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree
BookFairy’s review explores Mafalda’s fear of losing her sight and the way Paola Peretti presents her experiences without reducing the story to sadness.
What makes the novel particularly affecting is its portrayal of a child trying to understand a future she cannot fully imagine.
📖 Read The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree Review on BookFairy
📚 Where Should You Start Reading Paola Peretti?
For readers discovering Paola Peretti, The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree is the ideal starting point.
It introduces the emotional sensitivity and compassionate storytelling that characterise much of her fiction.
Readers who connect with Mafalda can continue her story in Io, Filippo e l’albero di ciliegie.
Those interested in family relationships, intergenerational memory and contemporary Italian fiction can explore La brigata delle cinque sorelle.
For a story blending contemporary family concerns with supernatural elements, Se le stelle non tornano offers another perspective on Peretti’s writing.
🦋 Discover Paola Peretti on BookFairy
Paola Peretti’s novels remind readers that emotionally powerful stories do not need extraordinary settings or dramatic adventures.
Sometimes, the most memorable journeys are the quiet ones: learning to understand ourselves, accepting unexpected changes and finding courage in the relationships that matter.
Through Mafalda and her other characters, Peretti creates stories about vulnerability, compassion and the many different ways people learn to move forward.