First of the Gang to Die by paolojcruz
Recommended and reviewed by T.O.
I stumbled across this book on a late night search for something short - and, if I'm being honest, uninteresting enough to walk away from when it was time to sleep. That is not at all what I ended up with. "First of the Gang to Die" was like travelling back in time to when you were a teen looking for answers, learning what friendship and growing up are all about.
The book starts in the most unusual place, at a funeral - for one of the protagonists to be exact, which I found to be a bit disconcerting - until I was transported into the rest of the story about an "ordinary subdivision boys, doing typical bourgeois kid stuff, with the usual inflated sense of personal drama that fourteen-year-olds possess".
Typical however, is not where this story takes you. The witty pragmatic prose, seeped in colloquial language is told with a narrative style that feels like you're sitting with friends reminiscing, filled with pop culture references and a dash of humor. It's easy banter and the boys versus the world feel is bursting with charisma, friendship, and power to make you remember the good and bad of days long past.
In the shadow of Stand By Me and The Sandlot, "First of the Gang to Die" examines life choices, destiny, and relationships as four very different boys start out their last summer together deciding to either debunk, or prove themselves able to rise above their local urban legend known as the "Devil's Wall." What happens to one of the boys in a one minute experience of transcendence will change the shape of their relationship and lives forever.
With a sprinkle of sci-fi and a dash of heart paolojcruz delivers the gift of a journey back to what we all hold sacred, the understanding of the fragility of life and how much better it is when experiences are shared.
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