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PW #371: Young Adult Contemporary #ownvoices: THE EDGE

Thursday, 2 November 2017  |  Posted by Brenda Drake

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor: Dawn Ius

Mentee: C.J. Simone

Title: THE EDGE

Category: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary #ownvoices

Word Count: 79,500

Pitch:

CATCHER IN THE RYE meets GIRL IN PIECES in THE EDGE, an #ownvoices story with a noir vibe. Seventeen-year-old Gabe Giordano’s world is filled with manic highs and depressive lows, a string of abuses and haunting days on the streets, mobsters in and outside his home.

Gabe escapes through music and unhealthy relationships. But when he attempts to right old family wrongs and rescues the mafia’s trafficked kids, he can’t escape his own guilty secret or the mob.

Excerpt:

Chapter One
Gabe Giordano

I slide sideways down the banister, my electric guitar in front. I got only seconds till my sisters catch on, till they pound me for sneaking out. But I gotta make this gig. Halfway down, I jump.

The door to Dad’s study swings open. Dammit.

I’m busted, but hell, I’ve caught Dad too. Not with a woman, not this time. It’s his mob buddies. They slink on either side of him, eyeing me near our twin staircases. Creeps. Dad promised Mom he’d keep the bastards out of our house, but I could tell her what his promises are worth. Like his promise we’d be okay—me and my best friend, Savannah.

“Got a gig,” I say. I know the rule: no gigs past curfew. But he should’ve left for his trip, shouldn’t be here to bust me. I twist a comb through my gelled hair, curl it up in front. “That better? For my show?”

He’s got his death stare on me. I bet it pisses him off he can’t look down on me; I’m as tall as him, just over six feet. We got the same broad shoulders and bronze skin, but I got Mom’s blue eyes. She tells me I got her heart too, not his, and I want to believe her. Damn, I want to.

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