Ventura and Zelzah
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A tale of teenage friendships set in 1970's suburban Los Angeles
In the haze of a hot San Fernando Valley summer in 1970’s Los Angeles, Douglas and his friends—Hank, Weddy, and Ronnie—struggle with their awkward teenage years during a confusing and highly permissive era. Weed and alcohol are regularly available, and most of the boys freely partake as they each navigate their own family dramas at home. Meanwhile, Douglas must also sort through the ups-and-downs of his relationship with his not-quite-girlfriend, Natalia.
When not in the swimming pool trying to beat the intense Valley heat, Douglas and his friends spend their summer vacation taking the RTD into Westwood to see Jaws, watching the Fourth of July fireworks at Balboa Park, seeking thrills at Magic Mountain, checking out the head shop and the turquoise jewelry at The Sixth Chakra, eating hot dogs and facing Koufax in the batting cage at Flooky’s, and playing plenty of basketball.
Ventura and Zelzah is a funny, poignant, and nostalgic coming-of-age tale of teenage friendships in a blissfully unhurried, pre-digital era.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1970s suburban Los Angeles, Bryan's slice-of-life novel of wild adolescence follows four friends as they navigate changing friendship dynamics amid the era's quintessential sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll hijinks. Seventeen-year-old Douglas is determined to make the summer before his 18th birthday one to remember. After persuading his parents to allow him to let loose—citing hard work at odd jobs and maintaining good grades—Douglas and his friends Weddy, Hank, and Ronnie traipse across the Valley, watching Jaws at their local theater, attending Fourth of July fireworks and summer picnics, riding coasters at Magic Mountain, and playing plenty of basketball. Over the course of one interpersonally tumultuous summer, Douglas discovers sides of his lifelong friends that he never knew and struggles to navigate his on-off relationship with his crush Natalia. Douglas's narration is occasionally stilted and overly adult—sometimes feeling more like memoir than novel—but his energetic approach to the pressure of impending adulthood is endearing. Bryan's cathartic homage to the joys of adolescent years wisely centers teens' unbridled capacity to live life untethered as they learn from their mistakes. All characters cue as white. Ages 15–up.
