This query is from Merry Monteleone for the novel From the Neighborhood. Thank you Merry for the honour of allowing me to work on and post this!
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ORIGINAL QUERY
For Jack Poverelli, scrounging up food is way higher on the priority list than showing up for his sophomore year Lit. class. But Jack's got friends who'll help him get by when his mom's too stoned to remember such things. When Jack gets himself arrested, it's not his lifelong buddies who bail him out.
Uncle Joe sets Jack's mom up in rehab and gets him out of the neighborhood. But Jack doesn't belong in the gleaming halls of his new high school, and he doesn't trust his uncle. Everything is pulling him into this new place--better classes, a job, a girl who should be way out of his league but doesn't seem to mind it, even his own friends are telling him to move on. Jack's ashamed to admit it but he finds himself yearning for something better. When his mother's relapse means stepping between her and a neighborhood drug dealer, Jack finds out for sure how far his friends will go for one of their own, but it also sets up a chain of events that will change their lives forever. And how the hell do you ever get home when the neighborhood you belong to no longer exists?
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GOBLIN-EDIT
When Jack Poverelli's uncle sweeps into town, bails Jack out of jail, packs his mom off to rehab, and whisks Jack out of the neighborhood, it should have felt like a fairytale. Not needing to scrounge up food instead of going to class ought to be a good thing. Never having to depend on your buddies when mom's too stoned to remember you is a step up, right?
But Jack doesn't belong in the gleaming halls of his new high school, and he doesn't trust his uncle. Everything is pulling him into this new place--better classes, a job, a girl who should be way out of his league but doesn't seem to mind--even his old friends are telling him to move on. Jack's ashamed to admit it, but he finds himself yearning for something deeper than this clean but meaningless life.
And that's why when his mom's relapse means stepping between her and a neighborhood drug dealer, Jack doesn't hesitate. And that's when he finds out for sure how far his friends will go for one of their own, but the confrontation sets off a chain of events that will change their lives and neighborhood forever. And how the hell can Jack ever get home when the one place he belongs to no longer exists?
Have any thoughts about either the original or the re-written query? Please join the discussion in the comment thread!
Extra Note: The author is open to brainstorming a new title for this novel. If you have a suggestion, please post it!
