Bronx River North - Book 1-Sophomore Year

Set at an upscale Preparatory School in the Bronx, New York at the end of the sixties, Bronx River North is the story of the improbable, yet dynamic relationship of a blue collar local kid and four well-heeled commuters from the suburbs just north of the city. Johnny DiDomenico is one of a handful of Bronx kids, who beat the odds and gets accepted to the prestigious Valdesian Academy of Saint Killian. Having spent most of his youth on the streets of Little Italy, Johnny tries to argue his way out of being enrolled. In the turbulent summer of 1969, his mother is set on placing her son under the tutelage of the Valdesian Monks and by September his fate is sealed.

The Westchester Boys befriend the Bronx native and their high school adventure places their worlds on an emotional and ethical collision course. Their interactions will parallel the social revolutions of their generation, replete with rebellion against the stoicism of the Valdesians, the conformist lives of their parents, and the moral demands of their religion.

The interplay of disparate teenage lives becomes an expose' on the divergence of wealth and privilege in an America clamoring for social changes. The stark images of the working class neighborhood of the Bronx, just a few miles away, is a vivid contrast to the neat, orderly, and stately lanes of Westchester County, and in particular the affluent village of Bronx Dale. Intrigued by their differences, the boys will shuttle into each other's worlds with hard lessons learned and innocence lost on the opposite side of the proverbial tracks.

This is a coming of age story with its own fickle nature and painful relationships; of high school boys guided by orthodox, cultivated Valdesian dogma, who invent a secretive code to live by, applying it selfishly to relationships with bitter results.

This captivating story would find an audience particularly young generations that filled in the years between 1965 and 1975. It would also have an appeal to anyone who has ever been to a Prep School, grown up in New York or lived in Westchester. Even New York expatriates would find themselves reconnecting as they flip the pages.

"Da" Bronx has a following all its own, and people associate it with a distinct version of New York culture, a particular linguistic accent, the Yankees, and strong ethnic enclaves. Its neighborhoods define the quintessential American melting pot. A place where all seem to find an interest in each other, eat each other's foods, inter-marry, and pick up on other languages even if those neighborhoods have a distinct character.

Finally, it also has a universal message about death and humility, difficult relationships, and class differences in two worlds that border on each other, with no need to acknowledge the other's existence. It brings together elements of Dead Poets Society, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and a splash of A Bronx Tale.