Hammond

<p>“Earnest . . . Compelling . . . successfully captures the anger frustration and freedom of kids on the brink of adulthood.”<strong> -<em>Kirkus Reviews</em> Recommended Review</strong></p><p>A group of troubled but charismatic boys in a tough Buffalo NY neighborhood play basketball at a local park and dream of winning a state high school championship. Driven by raw talent and killer instinct they dominate the court but everywhere else they feel like losers.</p><p><em>Hammond</em> is told through the eyes of James Lombardi a precocious but mentally ill boy who believes winning a championship will ease his “Evil Thoughts” and save his family long haunted by generations of substance abuse uncontrollable rage and suicide.</p><p>A dark but humorous coming-of-age novel <em>Hammond </em>offers a poetic and disturbing look inside the complex mind of an adolescent boy as he slowly learns that having the heart of a champion can sometimes be more burden than blessing.</p><p>*<em>Hammond</em> is the first novel in a loosely-linked series with <em>The Summer of Crud</em> <em>Understanding the Alacrán</em> and <em>Developing Minds: An American Ghost Story</em> as books two three and four respectively.</p>