The Summer of Guinevere Coming of Age, Romance
The Wild Rose Press, Inc
April 3, 2019
187
Paulie Passero, underachiever, high school junior, wants the courage to talk to a girl. A road trip from Chicago to rural Pennsylvania doesn't interest him until his father emphasizes the need for a second driver. Why must they go? Paulie's dying grandmother disowned her son twenty years ago, and fences must be mended. Unprepared for Smalltown USA, Paulie is bored at first but notices a girl in the back of a passing pickup and is immediately enamored.
Guinevere Thompson lives just down the road from Paulie's grandparents. She wants nothing to do with him. It's not that she doesn't like him; she likes him too much to see him beaten up by her three nasty brothers…or worse, her father.
Paulie yearns to help this troubled girl escape the clutches of an abusive father, but will his interference only cause her more harm?
Available at Amazon.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Sixteen-year-old Paulie Passero is going to be entering his junior year in high school, he is a C student with no real plans on attending college since it is easier to not attend on his own then be rejected by schools he applies to. His biggest problem is his inability to speak to girls, he is convinced that he has found his soul mate in Andie Walker but there is no chance of them getting together since he can’t even approach her.
With a few weeks left before school begins Paulie is told that he will be accompanying his father to Pennsylvania who will be going to visit with his dying mother, a mother he hasn’t seen or spoken to in over twenty years. When his father and mother married and chose to move to Chicago his mother disowned him. Not happy about spending his last few weeks of summer in a small town in Pennsylvania and meeting people he never met before is the last thing in the world he wants until he is told he will be doing some of the driving. To a sixteen-year-old who has never had the opportunity to drive on the highway this became a dream come true.
He also would be getting a break from his best friend Mickey who has decided to act as his agent in the attempt to find him a date. Of course Mickey believes he is the man for the job because he already had two dates, unfortunately one was with his cousin and one a blind date he took to an amusement park and after a scary ride managed to throw up all over.
Paulie and his dad had no idea what welcome they could expect from the family and were surprised when Paulie’s grandfather beamed with joy at seeing his only grandson. His aunt was less than thrilled and his uncle who Paulie had spoken to over the years couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately, his grandmother was in a coma and was not expected to wake up so there was no way to know if she would welcome her son and grandson. The story of what happens with grandma I will leave for you to discover.
Things in Pennsylvania aren’t so bad when Paulie sees a beautiful girl named Guinevere Thompson a girl he was warned against talking to since she had three evil brothers and a father worse than all three of them. Paulie is determined to find a way to talk to the girl of his dreams but that would require finding a way to see her in secret and finding a way to actual open his mouth and speak.
This was a beautiful story told in the first person by Paulie who brought back memories of my high school days and made me remember what it was like to be sixteen and trust me that was many moons ago. This was a story that evoked all kinds of emotions because it was just not about a family reunion it was about a girl who desperately needed help and Paulie would finally discover what he was made of. There was also a realization of why his father and uncle were not close but that is something I will not reveal either.
Although this is a story about high school kids it is a story I would highly recommend to any adult.