Cruising the Green of Second Avenue Wild Child Publishing

REVIEWED BY:

SCORE:

Author: Walter Giersbach
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing

REVIEW:

Story 1: Frank Cassidy and the Canarsie Chick

Frank is someone others see as an easy target for their jokes. He doesn’t have much luck with women either. One day, he meets Ramona. Ramona buries him in the sand on the beach with hilarious consequences.

Fun line: Frank should have had girls on him like rats fighting over a bagel.

Story 2: The Kid’s Got Smarts

Benny has a high IQ. Unfortunately, this doesn’t run to knowing what to do with the opposite sex. Benny needs advice, and he takes it—literally.

Fave line: One January afternoon, I sat at home when it was cold enough to freeze your words in mid-air.

Story 3: Laura Lard Takes no Prisoners

Allen loves overweight women. He has always been attracted to them, seeing their personalities rather than what they look like. He falls in love, and his bride-to-be, Laura, has a surprise for him when he meets her at the church.

Fun line: Laura Lardner had enough confidence in her image to make the cosmetics sales ladies at Bloomingdales wet their panties.

Story 4: The Man Who Put the Sin in Cynic

Carl’s a cynic. He has a caustic barb for every occasion. When his name starts cropping up in the newspaper, his life is about to change. For better or worse? Read and find out!

Fun line: Carl was pushing forty, and his hair was receding faster than the Jersey shoreline.

Story 5: Klein Comes Back Abashed

Klein and Chung seem a mis-matched couple. However, there’s something about the saying ‘opposites attract’.

Great visual: The guy splayed out over the steps had a face full of beard and wild black hair escaping from the red, white and blue bandanna tied around his head.

Story 6: Sarah, My Donna, and Child

Sammy and Sarah appear to be going through a rough patch in their marriage. Sammy says things without thinking. His barbs hurt his wife. Things are set to turn around when Sarah finds something to occupy her time—something for herself alone. But when she manoeuvres things to help Sammy, his reaction isn’t quite what she’d envisaged.

Fun line: It was just that she was plain as a doorknob and had the personality of a floor mat.

Story 7: Sharon Finds Her Voice

Sharon’s accent isn’t what you’d call nice. She’s got a harsh brogue on her that might make you wince if you heard it. A frightening twist of fate in the health department changes all that, and Sharon finds herself with an altogether different voice…

Cool visual: and his eyelids popped up and down like a Venetian blind.

Story 8: Astroturfing Benjamin’s Books

Benjamin’s novel isn’t selling as well as it could. A fan reader, Starla, lends him a hand and orchestrates more sales than Benjamin could wish for. Has Starla done him a favour, or was his life better before she came along?

Fun line: It was more than okay to Benjamin, who would’ve had moths in his wallet if it hadn’t been for Meredith’s paycheck.

Story 9: Donna Writes a Love Contract

Donna explains how her son was conceived. Her tale is an eye-opener and made me wary of school teachers!

Great visual: but I still needed to pry loose one bit of truth—one question that stuck in my teeth like a piece of popcorn after the theater lights came up.

Summary: Cruising the Green of Second Avenue is a collection of stories that introduces many different characters that intertwine in each story. A thoroughly enjoyable book, read in one sitting. Too hard to put down. Too hard to accept that it was over when the last page had been read. I felt lost once finished. The characters are so real that you become friends with them while reading. Still, all is not lost. I hear there are other volumes—something I’m eagerly looking forward to!