1980s Philly Suburbs: Mischief is the currency of boyhood. Sneaking out at night is ritual. It excites and bonds. Together, they target lavish adults. Cars, homes, golf courses -- ALL in their crosshairs. One boy (Garvey), loathes the mounting vandalism and theft. He'd rather lounge with tomboy crush (Emma), but he needs their friendship for status. As years pass, a creepy golfer (Kova) and his bully son (Wolf) intersect and haunt Garvey. When Garvey unravels Kova's vile secrets, he becomes prey and must escape a tightening blackmail grip. Can he protect Emma and his family? ================================ A gripping pre-Internet coming of age story... In the sleepy town of Oreland, a Catholic schoolboy, Garvey Nolan, befriends locals and becomes smitten with his next door neighbor, Emma O'Sullivan. With his buddies, innocent pranks escalate. Garvey embraces vandalism and trespassing, sacrificing morality for bonded friendships. The boys explore towns by bike and car, void of their parents, with the sole covenant of returning home for dinner. A nearby private golf course becomes the ultimate playground and hideout, a stage for mischief that blurs into malice.Meanwhile, an area business maven and charitable golf pro, Kratz Kova, weaves a sinister presence through Garvey's life. Kova's dark intentions are revealed to Garvey and progress as he enters manhood. Influenced by the healing power of music, Garvey strives to end what he has become, at the risk of losing his brotherhood. He craves an escape from Oreland with Emma, far from the stranglehold of Kova. But can he truly break free?Taking place from 1978 through 1993, Be Home By Dinner explores a last generation of kids that grew up without ubiquitous internet access. Void of smart phones and streaming content, they existed without daily photo capturing and social media posturing, roaming free unbeknownst to their parents, with no app to track their footsteps. Communicative technology was a pay phone and the monsters of mankind lingered but were difficult to prove. Be Home By Dinner questions whether misbehavior is a perpetual need that can't be severed after childhood. And questions what constitutes it going too far.================================ Praise For Be Home By Dinner From Online Reviews Girls, mischief, and social anxiety are all there, setting the tone of a world lived parallel to, but inexorably leading to, that of adults. If you grew up in the late 70s/80s, you will love this book. Great read and highly recommend to Gen X and their kids in high school and or college. It's well written & heckuva story that follows a kid as he grows up and lives life while maintaining a certain naivete as to why what he's doing keeps getting him into trouble... The author has a knack for weaving together a well-paced narrative with rich details from a bygone era. Highly recommended! I devoured this fine, engaging book in four sittings. The author captures the myriad of routes to adulthood exceptionally well with ease of reading ================================

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