Book Reviews
Nineteen by D.L. Janney is the gritty story of a vulnerable but spike-tough young man determined to make a better life for himself. He has a “look,” and this will catapult him into the glam-fashion model world of the 80’s. You live Daryl’s story by his side as he barely survives in a grubby postage-stamp room outside NYC, to an equally depressing prostitute-ridden boarding house in Milan, and finally on to exotic locales only the rich and famous may ever see.
Daryl’s journey invites us into the mind of a young man who, when he was small, was repeatedly nearly drowned by his father in the public swimming pool of his mid-western town. A young person who saw little love and even less encouragement growing up. A young person of rare physical attraction and toughness and decency, but drained of self-confidence and wracked by painful and persistent self-doubt. There is no fairy tale ending for this young man...but there is hope.
J Bean Palmer, Author, Massachusetts
Nineteen is everything you expect from a novel about the modeling biz, and less: sure, the glamour and high drama are there, but the story conventions are overshadowed by a little something extra: the naked truth.
Ron Skla - Modern Magazine
Nineteen (Janney) - Book Reviews
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