Eggplant Anyone?

Eggplant Alley by D. Cataneo

13 year old Nicky is growing up in an apartment complex called Eggplant Alley.  Eggplant Alley, and indeed Nicky whole life, is changing.  Nicky is having a hard time understanding who is is becoming in the new circumstances he finds himself in.

In Nicky's world there is a very clear line between us and them.  And he is determined to protect his own against all comers.  You can empathize with Nicky's desire to hang onto the things that he loves: his brother Roy, stickball, and what he thinks of as the good old days when everyone was happy.  And you can understand his tendency to rant and rave against the people he thinks are taking those things from him, even though you don't agree with him.  And it becomes impossible not to like Nicky.  And I found myself rooting for him as he tried everything he could to get a game of stickball going. Cataneo does a good job of making all the characters real people and making you feel the tension and the turmoil of the time without demonizing one side or the other.  I truly enjoyed following Nicky as he tried to find his way in a world that is rapidly changing around him and as he is forced to see things from new perspectives. learning along the way that the line between us and them is often not as clear as he thought.