The Prince of Venice Beach - Hardcover

Nelson, Blake

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316230480 ISBN 13: 9780316230483

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

Robert "'Cali" Callahan is a teen runaway, living on the streets of Venice Beach, California. He's got a pretty sweet life: a treehouse to sleep in, a gang of surf bros, a regular basketball game...even a girl who's maybe-sorta interested in him.
What he doesn't have is a plan.
All that changes when a local cop refers Cali to a private investigator who is looking for a missing teenager. After all, Cali knows everyone in Venice. But the streets are filled with people who don't want to be found, and when he's hired to find the beautiful Reese Abernathy--who would do anything to stay hidden--Cali enters a new world filled with mysterious characters, dangerous choices, and his first chance at real love.

About this title

About the Author

Blake Nelson is the author of many acclaimed novels, including Recovery Road, Destroy All Cars, and Paranoid Park, which was made into a feature film by Gus van Sant. His classic 1994 debut novel Girl was called a "seminal coming-of-age text" by Vanity Fair. He lives in Oregon.

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—Robert Callahan is a 17-year-old runaway. After his father's abandonment and his mother's accidental death early on, he has experienced life as a foster child, being shuttled from one family to the next. Robert finally takes control of his destiny and escapes the harshness of Omaha, Nebraska's social service system by running away to the streets of Venice Beach, California. He's a little luckier than most runaways—instead of sleeping in alleyways and digging in garbage for food, Robert has the support of Hope Stillwell, a Venice Beach resident who allows the teen access to her home and lets him live in a tree house in her backyard. Soon, Robert's cop friend, Detective Mitchell, refers him to a private investigator trying to locate a wealthy young San Francisco runaway. After Robert helps in a successful rescue, more referrals begin to come his way, but all of them are not from the friendly detective, and all of them do not necessarily end as happily. With each new investigation Robert takes on, he is faced with new life experiences and eye-opening self-evaluations, which have him pondering the future for the first time in his life. Up until this point, Robert's kept his existence under the radar to avoid detection by authorities. Now he's thinking of a future in private investigations—with business cards and all—but, most importantly, he realizes the need to further his education and to interact more extensively with society at large. Readers will anxiously follow Robert's adolescent journey of growth in this coming-of-age novel filled with exhilarating chases and heart pounding moments.—Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0316230480
• ISBN 13: 9780316230483
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240