On my fifteenth birthday, January 16, 1977, I slogged through a New York City rainstorm of hurricane proportions to buy the Sunday paper.
From Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis
KIRKUS REVIEW
A late-night phone call turned bad…turns good.
After his parents’ quick divorce and his mother’s even quicker remarriage to his gym teacher, Mr. Buonofuoco, in 1977, 15-year-old, half-Italian/half-Jewish Vinnie Gold relocates from New York City to Long Island with his mother and Mr. B. The loner teen knows that Patsy, the “foxy blonde” next door, is out of his league, but after discovering her private number, he musters the courage to call her at midnight. His nervousness and bumbling, however, leave Patsy thinking he’s an obscene caller. The potential creepiness of the situation is not lost on Vinnie, and it fuels his desire to right his wrong and prove himself. So he calls back, and this time Patsy keeps listening—and even talking. With a shield of partial anonymity, their midnight repartee continues night after night, developing into an unusual romance that keeps Patsy guessing at Vinnie’s identity and Vinnie watching the school’s football star abuse her. In a first-person narration that ranges from humor and quirkiness to insecurity and anger, Vinnie struggles between two personas. Can he ever reconcile both selves and still keep Patsy’s interest? Even if Patsy doesn’t fall for Vinnie, readers will grow to love his vulnerability and sincerity. His parents’ evolving relationships echo his own maturation.
Not exactly a perfect story. But it comes pretty close.
From Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis
KIRKUS REVIEW
A late-night phone call turned bad…turns good.
After his parents’ quick divorce and his mother’s even quicker remarriage to his gym teacher, Mr. Buonofuoco, in 1977, 15-year-old, half-Italian/half-Jewish Vinnie Gold relocates from New York City to Long Island with his mother and Mr. B. The loner teen knows that Patsy, the “foxy blonde” next door, is out of his league, but after discovering her private number, he musters the courage to call her at midnight. His nervousness and bumbling, however, leave Patsy thinking he’s an obscene caller. The potential creepiness of the situation is not lost on Vinnie, and it fuels his desire to right his wrong and prove himself. So he calls back, and this time Patsy keeps listening—and even talking. With a shield of partial anonymity, their midnight repartee continues night after night, developing into an unusual romance that keeps Patsy guessing at Vinnie’s identity and Vinnie watching the school’s football star abuse her. In a first-person narration that ranges from humor and quirkiness to insecurity and anger, Vinnie struggles between two personas. Can he ever reconcile both selves and still keep Patsy’s interest? Even if Patsy doesn’t fall for Vinnie, readers will grow to love his vulnerability and sincerity. His parents’ evolving relationships echo his own maturation.
Not exactly a perfect story. But it comes pretty close.