NATIONAL COLLEGIATE LITERARY REVIEW OF RICHARD ROSSI'S "STICK MAN" by Anna Berry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seattle, Washington, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) September 23, 2011 --

Richard Rossi's best-selling coming-of-age novel "Stick Man" is a masterpiece, not because it's flawless, but because it taps into universal archetypes and casts a spell on the reader. Rossi's portrayal of the conflicts his protagonist and fictional alter-ego Jeremiah Young experiences as he falls in love and is subjected to religious abuse has upset an extreme fringe of fundamentalists. It's not the first time. Rossi has already been protested by Reverend Fred Phelps. Hate-mongers mounted a letter-writing campaign to remove Rossi's novel from recommended reading lists in high schools and colleges nationwide. Rossi's novel was affirmed in board meetings across the country as worthy of remaining a staple of literature classes. This is to the benefit of young people everywhere. Every kid has his Stick Man, the sum total of all fear and shame. As a tribute to it's cross-over power and universality, I've seen women tanning at the beach reading Stick Man while drinking their rum swishers and calling it the "ultimate love story." I've heard pastors say it's the best book on religion this year. Therapists recommend it to patients. Most telling to me as a mother, is my own teenage daughter's reaction. She talks about Jeremiah and his girlfriend Angel as if they are real people, friends of hers as flesh and blood as the students she rides the school bus with. Stick Man has a galvanizing effect on young readers. Stick Man is a classic. Rossi manages the difficult task as a writer of being both an adult looking back and a child looking at the world through innocent and vulnerable eyes. The world is never so frightening, so exciting, so exhilarating, as seen through the eyes of a child. Richard Rossi took the materials of his childhood and transformed them into something universal, blending a child's point of view with the wisdom of adulthood. A great American writer, Rossi has penned an engrossing story, a work of art. Rossi has the courage and integrity, despite his evangelical background, to leave the world of black and white and lead us to the world of gray, where most of us live. Don't let the controversy deter you from reading Stick Man. Highly Recommended! ***** Five Stars Out of Five! Stick Man by Richard Rossi is available at Amazon

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