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Almost Home

by Frank Marcopolos (Goodreads Author)

4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 · rating details · 7 ratings · 5 reviews

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

When former baseball phenom Enzo Prinziatta is recruited into a powerful, shady-business fraternity, he thinks he's found the solution to all of his campus-life problems.

But when he discovers the truth behind the frat's prosperity, can he untangle himself from it before it's too late for him to resurrect his career?

LONGISH DESCRIPTION:

Enzo Prinziatta had...more

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Published July 17th 2011 by Whirligig Media (first published July 16th 2011)

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Oct 05, 2012 Kathleen Maher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thoroughly-read-and-enjoyed

"Almost Home" by Frank Marcopolos is a fun and fast-paced novel about the seedy side of student life on a college campus in upstate New York--a netherworld, like any college town, where young adults create lives for themselves, yet are too young to realize the consequences of their actions.
The story is told in alternating voices between two players on the school's baseball team: Enzo, a one-time star pitcher who has taken to drinking heavily and seems destined to become one of the sad aging loca...more "Almost Home" by Frank Marcopolos is a fun and fast-paced novel about the seedy side of student life on a college campus in upstate New York--a netherworld, like any college town, where young adults create lives for themselves, yet are too young to realize the consequences of their actions.
The story is told in alternating voices between two players on the school's baseball team: Enzo, a one-time star pitcher who has taken to drinking heavily and seems destined to become one of the sad aging locals who "could have been a contender," and Budski, a power hitter and budding gangster who runs the local bad-boy fraternity. Budski's main interest is making money, and he has all sorts of businesses on the side, most of them illegal.
The two are in conflict from page one, when Enzo stumbles upon the death of a young stripper at a party in Budski's fraternity house. Budski cleverly chooses to keep enemies his close and so makes Enzo an honorary fraternity brother. In the evil spirit, he later elects Enzo to be the the spokesman (and guinea pig) for a steroid-spiked sports drink that could make them rich.
Stirring the pot are Jenny, a wild girl, and Shannon, a more or less "good" girl who keeps Enzo (barely) on the right path.
When Enzo finally wakes up the fact that Budski is not only taking advantage of him--but could ruin his life--the conflict between them erupts.
I read "Almost Home" in one sitting. (All right, I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner but after fixing them, I read while I ate. Usually I resist this temptation if the book's on my Kindle.)But "Almost Home" keeps you in its thrall. The language rings true--and reads seamlessly within each character's alternating chapters. The vivid atmosphere settled me in a sleepy burg where the cultural and social center was the college. The powerful and vivid atmosphere, much the same as when I was in college, although much more hypnotic and alluring, goes further. It seduces one to remain on the cusp of adulthood forever. In "Almost Home" that powerful temptation seems possible--at the price of selling one's soul.
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Dec 14, 2011 Maureen Hovermale rated it 5 of 5 stars

A duel point-of-view book, the chapters change between Barry Budski and Enzo Prinziatta, both of whom are college students and on the baseball team.

Two very different people with a very similar goal: To succeed.

A drunken Halloween party changes Enzo’s life when he pursues a campus beauty all the way into a fraternity house in full-party mode. This is his first encounter with Barry, the president of the fraternity and, with a recently expired stripper, things have just become complicated.

One woul...more

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Jan 04, 2013 mountainmama rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although I’m not a fan of sports, this story goes so much deeper – portraying the college scene and all the attendant drama. Skillfully told from two different characters’ point of view, we follow the daily routine of two students who compete on and off the baseball field. From the frat boy pranks and immorality of the partiers and ‘jocks’ to the dedication and soul-searching of serious students/athletes, it covers both extremes and demonstrates how youth views the world.

Well written and edited,...more

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Feb 15, 2013 David King rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading “Almost Home” by Frank Marcopolos under the assumption that it would be a very sports centric novel and was therefore surprised to find out that it was actually much more than this. The plot has several twists and turns and explores the overall drama of college life with particular attention being paid to the more seedy aspects.

The novel follows the conflict between two protagonists, Barry Budiski and Enzo Prinziatta which occurs from the moment they meet at a Halloween Frat pa...more I started reading “Almost Home” by Frank Marcopolos under the assumption that it would be a very sports centric novel and was therefore surprised to find out that it was actually much more than this. The plot has several twists and turns and explores the overall drama of college life with particular attention being paid to the more seedy aspects.

The novel follows the conflict between two protagonists, Barry Budiski and Enzo Prinziatta which occurs from the moment they meet at a Halloween Frat party. Things get worse at the part when a stripper appears to die from a drug overdose and Enzo is thrown out by a few of Barry’s fraternity brothers. Barry, who is president of the Frat house soon realises that he should try and keep his potential enemies closer and therefore joins the same baseball team as Enzo and even invites him to be a honourary fraternity brother. Before long the two of them are more or less working together but there is still a level of conflict that continues to bubble along beneath the surface, enhanced by the involvement of two women named Jenny & Shannon.

I found the book to be cleverly written, fast paced and interesting in the way it explored multiple elements of University life, from the wild parties to life in the dorms. I also appreciated how Marcopolos gives the readers a narrative that alternates between the viewpoints of both Barry and Enzo. This alternating viewpoint ensured that I could attempt to understand the way in which the characters were acting to the point that at times I couldn’t actually decide if I actually liked or disliked them. There really was no good or bad guys in the story, these were meant to be characters with both negative and positive aspects which I enjoyed seeing.

However, I did have some issues with the characters and that was in regards to their maturity. I will admit it was 10 years since I was at University myself and it was based in the UK but I don’t remember myself or my friends acting in such an immature manner. Maybe I am misremembering it as being much more highbrow that it really was or perhaps my friends and I were not the norm but either way it ensured that I struggled to really relate with the characters as much as I wanted to.

Overall, this was an interesting book and I enjoyed seeing characters in both a positive and negative light even if I did feel that they were a little bit immature for University students. Personally, I suspect this book will appeal to people in their mid-teens as that is the age group of people I think who would really relate with the characters and perhaps therefore gain more from reading it.(less)

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Jul 31, 2011 Patti rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! Brought me right back to the emotional roller coaster of the drunk days of college drama. I found myself really rooting for Enzo, despite of, and in some cases because of, his flaws. I also had a hard time hating the 'villain' Barry. The author gives us such wonderful insight as to what made him the way he was that I understood and rooted for him to succeed at times as well. Ultimately it was the ending that got me. Wow! Everything truly is a fight!

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Apr 10, 2012 Duyvo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mar 07, 2012 Rick F. marked it as to-read

Jan 22, 2012 M.G. Edwards marked it as to-read

Jan 31, 2012 Robert Morrow added it

Nov 06, 2011 Grace marked it as to-read

Oct 19, 2011 Loosheesh marked it as unread

Shelves: calibred-n-own

Mar 20, 2012 Peggy Randall-Martin added it

Jul 28, 2011 Frank Marcopolos rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

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About Frank Marcopolos

Frank Marcopolos began writing as a kid in the evenings after summer days of competing--always unsuccessfully--against the older neighborhood kids (the evil "teenagers") in the P.S. 207 schoolyard. After long, hot days of sporting failures, he discovered that by writing stories, his fictional heroes (almost always coincidentally named "Frank") could always end up saving the day from the taller, me...more

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