Robert Valletta

The Journey of an American Boy Robert Valletta

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Journey of an American Boy is the original version of my debut novel, which is a fictional account of my real-life epic two-year backpacking journey across Europe. I originally published the book under this title and later added changes which I thought were improvements to my earlier work. The more recent novel is entitled A Foreigner's Heart. Tony Schiavone is a young boy from eastern Pennsylvania. As he struggles through the final years of high school, Tony longs for acceptance by his peers and female companionship, avoids his father's ire and constant disapproval of everything he does, and dreams of someday living a writer's life. Tony is spiritually empty and is aching for something greater than his small Pennsylvania hometown can provide. So, when the opportunity to backpack his way throughout Europe presents itself, Tony grabs the chance with both hands and never looks back. The journey takes Tony to the north of Ireland, where he befriends a group of local townsfolk in an Irish pub, and is introduced to the beautiful and captivating Miranda O'Malley. It is there that Tony begins to overcome his earlier fears and uncertainties about life, and recognizes the possibilities of the future before him. Based largely on the author's real life experience, The Journey of an American Boy is an inspiring tale of growth and maturity of a young American boy as he travels through a foreign land on the winding path toward adulthood.