Characters How to Heal a Gryphon Meg Cannistra

Giada Bellantuono: Defying Tradition to Heal Magical Creatures

Overview

Giada Bellantuono is the twelve-year-old protagonist of How to Heal a Gryphon (2022) by Meg Cannistra. She is a guaritrice-in-training from Positano, Italy, who discovers her true calling lies not in healing humans under Apollo, but in caring for magical animals under Diana. Her journey is one of rebellion, self-discovery, and courage as she defies her family’s expectations, rescues her kidnapped brother, and eventually wins the right to apprentice as a magical veterinarian. This character analysis traces Giada’s actions, motivations, and growth through the novel, using evidence from the text to distinguish explicit facts from interpretive observations.

Plot Role and Summary

Giada serves as the story’s central point of view and the catalyst for every major event. She opens the narrative by rescuing a baby gryphon she names Piccolina, then sneaks the creature into her healing class at the Torre di Apollo. When discovered, she defiantly leaves the classroom, setting the conflict with tradition in motion. Later, she heals the mother gryphon on a clifftop using unorthodox ingredients—melon, immortal jellyfish goo, and spider silk with unicorn hair—establishing her nontraditional methods. After her brother Rocco is kidnapped by the Streghe del Malocchio, Giada takes it upon herself to bargain for his release. She grows a moon from a vine, frees the stars of Malafi, and ultimately negotiates a new deal that secures her family’s freedom. In the final chapter, she confesses her desire to follow Diana instead of Apollo; with support from her brother and aunt, her father relents, and she accepts a yearlong apprenticeship in New Jersey to train as a magical veterinarian.

Motivations and Personality Traits

Giada’s primary motivation is her deep compassion for magical creatures, which overrides the strict rules of guaritore tradition. She repeatedly risks punishment to help animals: she hides a baby gryphon in her backpack, treats the mother gryphon despite knowing Maestra Vita will report her, and confronts the dangerous Streghe del Malocchio to save her brother and free captured creatures. Her rebellious streak is evident—she slams doors, talks back, and declares “I’m not mortified” when classmates laugh at her. She also believes that rules can be questioned: “It’s simply the way things are” is a line she rejects. Giada is practical and inventive, using homemade salves and creative combinations of ingredients rather than sticking to approved recipes. She is also brave, facing a six-hundred-pound gryphon and later standing up to Madre of the Streghe del Malocchio. However, she is not reckless; she is afraid of her father’s disappointment and worries about the apprenticeship, showing vulnerability. These traits are explicitly shown through her actions in the text, such as treating the mother gryphon and confronting the three streghe who attacked Papa Gryphon.

Chronological Character Arc

Giada’s arc moves from defiant outsider to accepted innovator, with key turning points:

  • Chapters 1–2: She hides the gryphon, is caught, and leaves class defiantly. She then heals the mother gryphon alone, building confidence in her own methods.
  • Chapter 3: After her parents are called away, her aunt arrives, and Giada hides the salt spill, fearing the Streghe del Malocchio. This foreshadows the later conflict.
  • Chapter 16: After freeing the stars, she finds her family kidnapped. Her grief turns to determination as she rallies allies.
  • Chapter 17: She heals Papa Gryphon, confronts Madre, and proposes a new bargain to stop the kidnappings. This is her most assertive moment: she demands fairness for creatures.
  • Chapter 18: She confesses her wish to follow Diana, is supported by Rocco and Zia Clementina, and gains her father’s permission to pursue magical veterinary training in New Jersey. The arc ends with her accepted into a new path that honors her true nature.

Relationships

With Rocco: Giada initially resents being compared to her perfect older brother—Rocco is the model student, calm and rule-bound. When she hears “Your brother would never behave this way” from Maestra Vita, she retorts “He’s not all that great, you know.” Yet after rescuing him, Rocco becomes her defender, telling their father, “You’re not an embarrassment… you’re a powerful and competent strega.” Their bond strengthens as he explicitly supports her choice to follow Diana.

With Alessia: Alessia Marini is Giada’s best friend and classmate, described as a know-it-all but also the first person Giada turns to. Alessia helps care for the gryphon and later participates in the rescue. Giada values her loyalty, saying “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

With Papa: The central family conflict. Giada fears disappointing her father, but his initial resistance to her new path stems from worry about bad luck, not malice. After Zia Clementina shares her own story of failure as a guaritore, Papa apologizes and agrees to petition the Guaritore Council. Their relationship evolves from tension to understanding.

With Zia Clementina: Giada’s aunt provides a model of someone who left the traditional path to become an oracle. Her revelation—“I didn’t know myself until I discovered I was an oracle”—mirrors Giada’s own self-discovery. Zia supports Giada in the final confrontation with Papa.

With Magical Creatures: Giada forms bonds with Piccolina, the baby gryphon, and later with the mother gryphon and Papa Gryphon. These relationships are built on trust and mutual aid—the gryphons accept her healing because she asks permission and uses kindness. The text states that “feathers and claw clippings given freely are the rarest and most potent,” underscoring the importance of consent.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  1. Hiding the baby gryphon in class – Immediate consequence: Maestra Vita scolds her and calls her father. Long-term consequence: Establishes Giada’s willingness to break rules for animals and sets the stage for her rebellion.

  2. Healing the mother gryphon with forbidden ingredients – Consequence: She gains seven gryphon feathers and earns the trust of the mother gryphon, which later aids her rescue mission. This decision also confirms her talent for nonhuman healing.

  3. Bargaining with the Streghe del Malocchio to free Rocco – Giada grows a moon and frees the stars in Malafi, fulfilling her deal. Consequences: Her family is released, but she also negotiates a new bargain for Rocco to supply tonic in exchange for no further kidnappings. This shows her growing diplomatic skill.

  4. Asking to follow Diana instead of Apollo – Immediate resistance from Papa, but after Rocco and Zia Clementina speak, Papa agrees. Consequence: Giada avoids a year of forced apprenticeship in a tradition she hates, and instead trains as a magical veterinarian.

Themes and Symbol Connections

Giada’s story directly embodies the themes of tradition vs. individuality and self-discovery. She rejects the rigid guaritore path, asking “how can it be bad to honor Diana and care for animals?” The cornicello she wears symbolizes protection, but she ultimately learns that courage, not superstition, saves her. The gryphons themselves symbolize the wild magic that Giada understands but the Streghe del Malocchio try to exploit. Her relationship with her family touches on family loyalty—she risks everything for them, and they eventually support her. The theme of balance and bargain runs through her negotiations with Madre, where she insists on fair terms. Finally, superstition and magic appear in her fear of spilled salt and the malocchio, but she overcomes that fear to act bravely.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does Giada want to follow Diana instead of Apollo?

Giada feels a deep connection to animals, not people. She tells her father that healing creatures is “the only thing I want in this entire world.” Her joy comes from nursing baby gryphons and inventing salves for magical beasts, not from traditional human healing. This desire is explicit in the text: she says she wants to “honor Diana, goddess of wild animals, and take care of creatures—both ordinary and extraordinary.”

2. How does Giada’s relationship with Rocco change?

At the start, Giada resents being compared to the perfect Rocco. In Chapter 1, she complains that “Rocco didn’t have to do an apprenticeship.” After she rescues him, Rocco becomes her most vocal advocate. In Chapter 18, he tells their father, “She saved my life… she’s amazing when she’s helping animals.” Their bond shifts from rivalry to mutual respect.

3. What is the significance of the seven gryphon feathers Giada collects?

The mother gryphon gives Giada seven feathers willingly after being healed. The text explains that feathers taken by force lose their power, and that “feathers and claw clippings given freely are the rarest and most potent.” They symbolize earned trust and become a tool for protection against dark magic later in the story.

4. Does Giada ever doubt her decision to defy tradition?

Yes. In Chapter 2, she hesitates at the top of the 1,927 steps, wondering if she should hide. She touches her cornicello and reminds herself, “This isn’t a bad-luck thing… It’s being brave.” She also worries about disappointing her father. These moments of doubt make her eventual success more meaningful.

5. What happens to Giada at the end of the book?

Giada’s father agrees to let her follow Diana and to petition the Guaritore Council to accept Diana’s followers. She accepts a one-year apprenticeship with the Calamoneri family in New Jersey to train as a magical veterinarian. The final line: “I am Giada Bellantuono, and I will be the best magical veterinarian the world has ever seen.” For a full ending breakdown, see the ending explained.

For more discussion, visit the questions and answers page or explore the full book summary.