Pressed Pennies

by Steven Manchester

Review by Selina Schulze

'Pressed Pennies' revolves around Richard Giles, his family and friends as he goes through life living the "American Dream". 

The reader is introduced to Richard as a young boy, happy, carefree and an all-round nice kid. He lives with his father, Jim and his grandma, Eunice. His mother had been killed by a drunken driver years before.  

Richard lives next door to young Abby Gerwitz. She, along with other friends, Vinny, Tracy and Grant, are Richard’s friends in Freedom Ave. They play together and hang out doing normal kid things.  Then, Richard has to move away as his father can't afford to keep the mortgage - the family is encumbered with medical expenses from when Richard's mother died.

Abby and Richard have a crush on each other, but when Richard moves, they don't keep in touch.  

Years pass.  Abby marries a man the same as her father, a drunk. Richard becomes successful and has money to do whatever he wants, but something's missing.  Then a chance meeting changes his life.

From the start, 'Pressed Pennies', brought back memories of my own childhood: the TV shows, the music, and even the description of the characters in the book. Everyone can relate and probably has met someone during his or her own lifetime like those in the book. It contains a lot of poetry and a lot of morals. It will make you think about your own life and the choices you've made. Overall, I'd say it's a good read.

Publisher: Coming Soon - See Steven's site link above