Product Description

Brooklyn 1977. April Lundquist lives in Dyker Heights, a neighborhood populated by the Mafia. Three hit men live on her block:
Francesco "Frankie the Crunch' Consiglione, Vincent "Gorgeous Vinny" Persico, and Salvatore "Soft Sal" Luciano. When Soft Sal approaches April and her best friend, Brandi Rinaldi, for a favor, well . . . the girls can't refuse.

But does the favor, along with the crisp hundred-dollar bills that turn up in their schoolbooks, mean that April and Brandi are now in with the Mob? Will April be able to get "protection" for her older brother, Matt, when he makes the big mistake of falling for the daughter of a big crime boss? And will April's connection to Soft Sal bring her closer to Dominick DeMao, bad-boy rocker and heartbreaker?

Soft Sal, Matt, Dom . . . in April's neighborhood the guys stir up all the trouble, but April wouldn't have it any other way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #948286 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-12
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Booklist
Fourteen-year-old April Lundquist lives in the colorful neighborhood of Dyker Heights, where many of Brooklyn's most dangerous mobsters live. She and her best friend, Brandi, can hardly refuse when Soft Sal requests that they escort his mentally handicapped son, Larry, to and from high school. April thinks that her service might buy a bit of protection for her older brother, Matt, who has fallen in love with a mobster's daughter. Lurie has written a delightful book about growing up in Brooklyn's Mafia-dominated 1970s. Colorful characters—Soft Sal, Gorgeous Vinny Persico, Frankie the Crunch—hold ever-present but largely benign control over the neighborhood. Against this rather sinister backdrop, April enters high school, learns to play a mean game of tennis, babysits for her younger brother, and falls madly in love with bad-boy rocker, Dom. A classic growing-up-in-America story with a twist, this is lighthearted yet complex, with just enough gut-wrenching love and suspense to make it an obvious hit with the girls and a potential sleeper with the guys. Bradburn, Frances

Review
“A classic growing-up-in-America story with a twist, this is lighthearted yet complex, with just enough gut-wrenching love and suspense to make it an obvious hit with the girls and a potential sleeper with the guys.”—Booklist


From the Paperback edition.

Review
“A classic growing-up-in-America story with a twist, this is lighthearted yet complex, with just enough gut-wrenching love and suspense to make it an obvious hit with the girls and a potential sleeper with the guys.”—Booklist


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

Love this Novel
This novel has one of the best first lines I've ever read in a YA novel. It has an emotionally rich story that is laugh-out-loud funny. The setting is seventies Brooklyn in a neighborhood where mafia characters such as Soft Sal and Frankie the Crunch live. Against this backdrop we follow the main character, April, as she struggles to keep her brother out of trouble, deal with her own romantic difficulties, school, parents, and, of course, the neighborhood mobsters. It's a wonderful coming-of-age story. This is great read.

One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read
This book has everything, witty characters, hot teenagers, young romances, and also some important life lessons. This book had many plot twists and so many things going on at once, it would be hard not to enjoy it. It is filled with humor and also some serious subjects, but the author makes them all seem lighthearted and entertaining. This is a must read for a reader who enjoys any type of funny book.

I wish there was a sequel!
This is a YA book about April, a 14 year old blond, Scandinavian girl who lives in the middle of an Italian mafia's neighborhood. She has an older brother, Matt, and a younger brother, Sammy who she often babysits. Her best friend, Brandi, lives next door. Matt is in love with a girl who is a mob head's daughter, which gets him into ALOT of trouble. April is in love with a rocker who has a ponytail, does drugs, and skips class named Dominick. Brandi asks her to go on a double date with her with a guy she's never met named Bert, who is significantly shorter than April, but who ends up having a huge crush on her. Little Joe, Matt's best friend, starts to fall in love with April as well. When Dominick finally notices her, Little Joe is dangerously upset. Without giving away the whole story, it was fun to see how April handled everything with all 3 guys. The only thing stopping it from being 5 stars, is the ending. It left me asking "what just happened?" I was very surprised when I got to the last page....and that was it. I wanted more answers!