Two Tonio Francos. TJ and Franco. One on a stage. One in a cage. Both in a rage.
TJ. Falling for Kamara Day. On a college campus gone cray. The seniors caught in the culture war crossfire. TJ himself on fire. Burning in five different directions like he’s all of One Direction. Big brother to Kyd. Fraternity VP. Intern in NYC. Rappin to Drag’s beats. And. That f***ing demon he can’t defeat. The one pushing him to the ledge. At Jersey’s northeastern edge. Hoboken. The kid about to jump. No jokin. Haunted by many things. Especially THE Thing. Seven years lingering. Infecting. Tingling. Battling that other force. That one that makes him come alive. When he sees the girl with the golden eyes...
Kamara Day. The hipster scene queen. Her conscience clean. Already sorted through her childhood drama. No longer bothered by her father. No longer mixed up about her mixed race. But. Those dates with TJ in the moonlight. The choir girl dreaming of the limelight. Of singing as he rhymes tight. Ya know, if the spring lovers can even weather the bad weather. Cuz sometimes it can rain all day. In NJ.
And right alongside the drama of the seniors... That of Franco Senior’s. The retired MMA champ living with Julie and their six-year-old kid named Kyd. Somewhere in the woods of Jersey. Yet still stompin in his old stomping grounds. Running the family fight club in Woodbridge. His up-and-comer’s upcoming match a bridge. To sponsors who could keep the club afloat. Or the Francos go broke. Lose everything they own. Extra motivation for Franco to reclaim the throne. As he battles. A demon of his own.
LP Novel: (n.) Lyrical Prose novel. A novel styled lyrical. At times. In its usage of wordplay. And rhymes.
Assessment:
Plot:The plot is standard in terms of overcoming one’s past, but the presentation of the plot and its unfolding is superior.
Prose/Style:The memorable prose throughout takes on a lyrical bent, at times dropping into a short burst of rap lyricism, which enhances the narration.
Originality:This is not your average coming-of age-tale, but instead it is a coming-to-grips-with-age tale full of humor and heart.
Character Development:The father and son round out an excellent variety of cast members featured in this manuscript. The complexities in these individuals are layered, and their personalities all hold the readers’ interest.
Blurb:“Thrivers” is the tale of a father and son, both on different paths in life. This book is for all of the dreamers and endlessly hopeful in life.
Date Submitted: April 04, 2019
"A retired mixed martial arts fighter and his college-student son independently strive to pull their family out of debt in the second installment of Sheridan's (The Streets, 2018) series.
Tonio Franco Sr., a former MMA champ, now coaches hopefuls at his gym, Brawlers, in New Jersey. But Brawlers can't keep Franco, wife Julie, and their kids from being perpetually broke. That's why 21-year-old Tonio Jr. abandons his plan to teach and, instead, majors in finance at Jersey State University. TJ also interns on Wall Street, but a plum job opportunity doesn't quite pan out. Around the same time, Franco worries the gym will be even worse off after his star trainee loses another match... ...TJ, meanwhile, starts dating fellow university student Kamara Day. She wants to be a famous singer, which dovetails with TJ's dream of someday owning the stage as a rapper. But he may have to abandon that dream in order to earn a white-collar salary. As in his earlier novel, Sheridan displays a knack for what he dubs "lyrical prose" --a narrative rife with wordplay and rhymes. TJ, for example, muses: "So then why did T...as he drank at the bar with G...think something even more uncouth? Was there an even deeper Truth? TJ's eyes started going REM as he heard REM." The author's distinctive writing, however, doesn't outshine the plot or cast. And while the novel contends with multigenerational anxieties, it's consistently amusing.
Creative, poetic prose enhances an already potent family drama." -Kirkus Reviews
