Synopses & Reviews
Its July, and Nicholas Borelli IIs parents are scheduled to spend two weeks on a cruise. Nicholas will spend those two weeks, as he does every summer, at Camp Wannameka. The night before hes to leave, however, theres a phone call: thanks to an explosion in the septic system, camp is canceled. The only place for Nicholas to go instead is to his grandmothers house in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York.
Nicholass father grew up in Brooklyn, but youd hardly know it. An Italian dinner at Nicholass house in the suburbs is whole wheat pasta, organic tomato sauce, and, if hes lucky, a tofu meatball. And Brooklyn? Well, Brooklyn is the place his father left and never talks about. Nicholas has never been there, and he doesnt want to go now.
But when Nicholas tastes his grandma Tuttis meatballs for the first time, gets a nickname from his uncle Frankie, and makes a friend in the neighborhood, his feelings about Brooklyn–and family–begin to change.
About the Author
Steven R. Schirripa is best known to television audiences as Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri on the HBO hit series The Sopranos. He has also become a regular field correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared as host for Spike TVs Casino Cinema series. Steve will next be seen in the feature film Duane Hopwood and is developing a half-hour situation comedy based on his bestselling book A
Goombas Guide to Life, co-authored, along with
The Goombas Book of Love, with Charles Fleming. He lives with his wife and their two daughters in New York City and Las Vegas.
Charles Fleming is the co-author of the 2003 New York Times bestseller Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper and author of the novels The Ivory Coast and After Havana. He is a veteran entertainment reporter and columnist for publications including Newsweek, Variety, and Vanity Fair, and is an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Los Angeles.