BRONX RIVER NORTH by John B. Dolgetta

Set at an upscale Preparatory School in the Bronx, New York at the end of the sixties, Bronx River North is the story of the improbable, yet dynamic relationship of a blue-collar local kid and four well-heeled commuters from the suburbs just north of the city. Johnny DiDomenico is one of a handful of Bronx kids who beats the odds and gets accepted to the prestigious Valdesian Academy of Saint Killian. The Westchester Boys befriend the Bronx native, and their high school adventure places their worlds on an emotional and ethical collision course. Their interactions will parallel the social revolutions of their generation, replete with rebellion against the stoicism of the Valdesians, the conformist lives of their parents, and the moral demands of their religion. The interplay of disparate teenage lives becomes an expose’ on the divergence of wealth and privilege in an America clamoring for social changes. The stark images of the working class neighborhood of the Bronx, just a few miles away, is a vivid contrast to the neat, orderly and stately lanes of Westchester County, and in particular the affluent village of Bronxdale. Intrigued by their differences, the boys will shuttle into each other’s worlds with hard lessons learned and innocence lost on the opposite side of the proverbial tracks.