Excerpt from YA title: A Slip In The Right Direction

Excerpt from YA title: A Slip In The Right Direction
by author and poet Rachel Berry

A Slip In The Right Direction, a coming-of-age story for tweens & teens. The story of life, puppy love, and lessons, as seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old young man coming-of-age in Chicago.

Homesick for his life and friends back home, a family move forces 14 year old Clifton Henderson, aka Slip, to grow up on the north side of Chicago. In his mind, life sucks at the moment and can't get any worse. But it does. A kidnapping by gang members, a crush on a girl playing hard to get, a strict father, a mysterious neighbor, and the gift of premonitions all help take him on a ride of life until eventually he takes A Slip In The Right Direction.



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Setting the scene from A Slip In The Right Direction:
Fourteen-year-old Clifton Henderson aka Slip has witnessed and become unwillingly involved in a robbery by Chicago gang members. He’s back at home; reported the crime to the police, and is being questioned by a detective who wants to take him down to the station. His parents are not home, but in the streets anxiously looking for him …


Book Excerpt
Part 1 of The Clifton Henderson series

I took another long stare at him. Something about the way he said this thing made me know he didn’t believe I was innocent. His offer for me to leave was probably not for the safety of a good citizen but thinking I’d be fingered as a snitch among the gangbangers and they’d be hot on the lookout for me. This was his way of stopping more violence. But it didn’t matter what he believed or didn’t believe; he had a point. If I didn’t go with him, I couldn’t leave the apartment without worrying and my folks couldn’t come back home without me worrying. This was really turning into a thing—a bad thing—especially for me. I made my decision.

“I’ll go with you.”

”He said, “Something else you need to understand, kiddo.”

He wrote in his pad while talking. I desperately wanted to snatch the pad out of his hand and read it.

“Until this thing is sorted out, it’s not clear as to whether you are a participant or you’re actually a victim, namely a witness. Do you understand that? I mean, have I made myself clear here?”

Oh, you’re as transparent as they come, my mind whispered. But my mouth just said, “Yep.” Funny, I heard Momma’s voice in my head say, Slip, now you know you’re always suppose to say “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” to your elders. But somehow, I don’t think she meant elder jerks. I was good on this one.


Cop dude sat there, still looking around the room suspiciously. He focused in on Momma’s Betty Boop doll collection that lined the wooden mantelpiece. “Are you the only child in the house?”

“I’m the only child in the house,” I repeated irritably.

“Any siblings? That means brothers or sisters.”

I began a silent countdown in my head, Mom’s method of anger management. Then I exhaled.

“I have an older sister. She doesn’t live here. She’s twenty-six years old and lives a few blocks away.”

“How about we get her on the phone?”

He was doing it again, talking without looking at me and writing in that dumb pad of his.

“She might not be home; she was supposed to be coming over for dinner tonight.”

He gave his watch another look, then went back to writing.

“How ’bout we try her anyway?”

By now, I was standing with my hands on my hips, mean-mugging him. Mom would have lost it had she seen me. I massaged my temples, shook my head, and dragged my feet over to the telephone. I saw cop dude cut his eyes over at my feet, as if my feet and sneakers were all that existed of me. He then turned back to his pad, doodling.


I wished I could shut my eyes and make the whole night disappear. I thought back to the scene that played out earlier. I pictured Demon’s bloody body being carried away on the stretcher. He looked unconscious as the paramedics pushed him into the back door of the ambulance, a complete opposite of the strong, cocky guy who had been bragging earlier. A tiny object like a bullet had cut through all that talk. Erskine, handcuffed and pushed along toward the squad car by two cops, had called to his brother to hang on before he was pressed, headfirst, down into the backseat. I gotta admit, for a minute, I did feel sorry for Demon. Thoughts rushed angry tears to my eyes for a fleeting moment, making the phone pad fuzzy as I dialed Christine’s number. And then, from out of nowhere, I got that feeling again.

This time, it was a little different than the rest—more intense and very vivid. I knew immediately it had nothing to do with me or the Dragons or the robbery. It was about the mystery person in Apartment 6. I swayed for a dizzy moment, and then the feeling was gone. Slowly, I turned around to see if Officer Know-So-Much was looking. But he was busy still writing in that dumb pad.

I took a long sigh. What a night! But who knew? It was long from over.

###


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Please note the formatting will be so much better in the book! Thank you for taking the time to read a excerpt from my latest book. -- Rachel Berry, author of the upcoming YA novella: 'A Slip In The Right Direction'



Praise for Young Adult Novella: A Slip In the Right Direction

"A Slip In The Right Direction speaks to an all too familiar reality of America's Black and Brown folk who are in a day-today struggle to survive."
---Bruce George, Co-Founder of Def Poetry Jam and Founder of The Bandana Republic


"...Thought provoking and well written. Young readers will be texting their friends about the book and eagerly awaiting the sequel."
----Brian W. Smith, Best Selling Author of the novel BEATER



» Connect with author Rachel Berry Online:
http://www.RachelBerry.webs.com
http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/Lady-Serenity
http://www.google.com/profiles/AuthorRachelBerry



» A Slip In The Right Direction by Author & Poet Rachel Berry
ISBN-10: 0982778201 | ISBN-13: 978-0982778203

On Sale Now or request at your local e-retailer or bookstore
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Slip-Right-Direction-Rachel-Berry/dp/0982778201