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A. A. Freda

Author of Goodbye, Rudy Kazoody

6 Works 10 Members 2 Reviews

Works by A. A. Freda

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Book 3 in the Sam & James series finds the couple living on a ranch in Colorado when they are asked by family friends to investigate the murder of their son.

The plot moves along at a brisk pace and the overall story is engaging but the characters of Sam & James do nothing to make you love them. Although Will on the surface comes over as someone eager to help people his, underlying priority is his business and he is somewhat of a bully with a high degree of self-interest, something that is more noticeable during the sex scenes. Sam is to James what Robin is to Batman – more of a sidekick that an equal partner.

Whilst I didn’t necessarily find myself rooting for the pair, the story was at least well executed and nicely plotted making this an interesting read.
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KevinCannon1968 | Sep 2, 2023 |
[b:Goodbye, Rudy Kazoody|32295562|Goodbye, Rudy Kazoody|A.A. Freda|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475153999s/32295562.jpg|52828152] by [a:A.A. Freda|15861154|A.A. Freda|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1476379351p2/15861154.jpg] is a coming of age story that follows a young Italian-American immigrant boy, Joey "Priest" (and his family), as he grows up in Bronx, NY, during the 1960's.

As if growing up wasn't an already confusing experience, throw in moving to another country, trying to learn a completely different language and culture, all while trying to do well in school, fit in and make some friends. When Joey, his parents, and his older sister Josephine first come to America, they start off in Orange, New Jersey (my home state!), but they soon move to New York to be closer to their other family members and help ease their transition into the U.S.

Spike, Joey's cousin, is the leader of the Black Knights, a mostly "harmless" gang, and makes Joey a member to protect him from things like being bullied. With the help of his cousin, he starts to fit in, make friends, starts going by the nickname "Priest", and manages to stay out of trouble..mostly.

What I loved most about this book is that it isn't just Joey's or even just Spike's story, but the story of all these teenagers who are cut from a similar cloth and are all trying to find their place in this world. While you might not have done what most of these teens have, this is still a coming of age story so it's easy to relate to most of the characters.

"Teenagers experiment with their bodies and minds. We’re all feeling our way, you know? Trying to understand how we fit into this world."

The writing is good, and in some ways this book reminded me of [b:The Outsiders|231804|The Outsiders|S.E. Hinton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442129426s/231804.jpg|1426690] by [a:S.E. Hinton|762707|S.E. Hinton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206505616p2/762707.jpg]. I do wish there was a bit more emotion during some parts, though. Sometimes I found it hard to connect to certain things through out this story. The setting takes place not far from where I currently live and I really enjoyed having a better idea what things were like in my area during a time of such great change.

I enjoyed the mystery of Rudy Kazoody, I thought it was really interesting, but unfortunately its a mystery that's left opened ended. While I think I may know the answer, you are left wondering. But... Maybe that's the point?

This book is about growing up and finding yourself. Its about life and how the choices you make could change everything. Goodbye, Rudy Kazoody is filled with first love, loss, war, drugs, friendship, change, boxing matches and gang life, and a mystery that will suck you in like it did to our MC.


**** I received an eBook copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. That you to Booktasters for introducing me to this author, and thank you to A.A. Freda for giving me the chance to read and review his work. ****
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Stories_to_live_by | Nov 29, 2017 |

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Works
6
Members
10
Popularity
#908,816
Rating
3.0
Reviews
2
ISBNs
9