Book Review: Bread Bags and Bullies

Everyone who knows me and knows this blog understands how big of an influence the 1980's were in my life. For a bulk of this decade, I was in high school and college. The music, the TV shows, the comics, and everything are touchstones for me. So, when I heard about my Twitter author-friend Steven Manchester's upcoming book, I was very excited to check it out.

Bread Bags and Bullies: Surviving the '80's is all about the memories from a decade gone by. After breaking up an altercation between his two sons, Herbie settles in for a trip down memory lane - to a week back in the winter of 1984 when he and his own brothers were on a week's break from school. They are all-in for a week of goofing off. When a late Nor'easter slams into New England, their family finds themselves stuck in the house together.

Through a quick-paced and easy-to-consume narrative, we get to know the entire family - a family that easily could have been your own or one that lived just down the street when you were growing up. So many situations and elements are familiar that they could have come from my own life. For example, any of my friends and followers who grew up with big snowy winters will remember having to wear bread bags inside their boots (to try to keep our socks dry while we were forced to play outside in the bitter cold). That happens to the boys in this story too. There are plenty of 1980's pop culture references sprinkled throughout the story as well, bringing back many good vibes for someone from my generation.

Bread Bags and Bullies will be published on November 19th of 2019, available at all the usual book outlets (brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers). If this sounds like a book that would interest you, definitely check it out.

Steven Manchester's website can be found at http://www.StevenManchester.com. He is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStevenManchester/.
For more of my reviews of his other books, please click here.