My Query

What happens when a transfer student from New York named Lauren Knapp walks into the lives of five childhood friends attending a boarding school outside of Salem, Massachusetts? There is mystery surrounding who Lauren is and how she wound up at the locally prestigious Stanobia Academy and it is her sudden appearance into the world of these five friends that becomes a catalyst for not only her own personal journey of self discovery, but each of their own as well. It is during this junior year of high school that each of them will realize at sixteen years old you possess all the vulnerabilities of your childhood while learning the first responsibilities of adulthood. Tyler Fazio is a boy born into privilege who naturally excels at everything he sets out to do. Reed Hunter is equipped with a carefree attitude about life and a typical teenage boy’s one track mind. Perry Richards is the only one attending the school on an athletic scholarship although his true passions belong to his art. Caleb Garrahey is the shy small town boy sheltering himself from his own happiness. And Danielle Harris is constantly trying to out-do the boys being the only girl in the original group proving she’s tougher, stronger, and faster than the rest. There will be love found and love lost, deep secrets from the past brought into light, and in the end no one will remain the same person they once were. Travel the emotional roller coaster of The Journey from laughter to tears and back to laughter first hand as you see the experiences of Tyler, Reed, Perry, Caleb, Danielle, and Lauren through their own eyes.

The Journey is a raw piece of young adult fiction because being a teenager in the modern day is raw: drugs, alcohol, sex, romance, and homework make high school a modern day battle field. All of the characters are flawed with their own personal inner demons to face; some will triumph while others will fail. The novel is approximately 300 pages in length, told in the third person, and switches perspective amongst the six different characters as the story progresses. At the very core it's about showing how at sixteen years old you think you know everything, but the first lesson is in admitting that you know nothing. I believe there is a story to be told about the real American teenager who is rough around the edges, clumsy, and at times offensive but it is these things that make them genuine.
Who am I? I grew up in the suburbs of New York City in a town called Valley Cottage. When I was about seven years old I first discovered my love for writing, but my first major honor came in the fifth grade when I won a D.A.R.E writing competition. The summer before I entered the sixth grade I wrote a letter to the editor of The Rockland Journal News entitled "Save The Geese". In middle school I performed an originally composed song at a school peace concert and my poetry was published in the yearbook. Later on in high school I co-wrote and organized the ceremony for my Jewish Confirmation, self published an anthology for a class project, and performed another originally composed song at graduation. I attended the State University of New York at Albany where I majored in English with a concentration in writing. Although my background is predominantly in poetry, short stories, and essays I have become captivated by the novel writing experience. This is my first novel, but definitely won't be my last. As described by one of my former classmates, "Laura Kaponer is a diamond in the rough".