Review: Who Wants to be Greek? By Jeffrey L. Carrier
Embracing tradition while chafing against the constraints of a predestined future makes for a compelling premise in Who Wants to be Greek?, a colorful coming-of-age novel by Jeffrey L. Carrier.
Giorgos Balaskapoulos’ extended family owns boats, curio shops, a sponge diving business, a tourist guidance center, and six or seven Greek restaurants in Tarpon Springs, Florida. All of his cousins work in the family businesses and Giorgos grudgingly works part-time in his uncle’s curio shop. At almost eighteen, he wants to be a great Greek like the rest of the men in his family. The only problem is that […]
Summer Girl by Linda Watkins is a poignant coming of age novel that asks whether it’s possible to forget one’s first love.
Stainer by Iolanthe Woulff follows the life of Ben Steiner, a precocious but terminally uncool college student living in 1970’s New York City. Beginning on his 21st birthday, he meets the girl of his dreams, as well as the dynamic P.T. Deighland who’s a magnetic presence but doesn’t always have Ben’s interests at heart. As Ben awakens to new experiences, and struggles with breaking free from his conservative upbringing, his desire for acceptance may just end up being his downfall.