Jesse's Girl [Paperback]

Gary Morgenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2009

The story opens as a jarring phone wakes lifelong Brooklynite and widowed father Teddy Mentor well after midnight. It's the Montana wilderness program saying that his 16-year-old adopted son has run away - and they haven't a clue where he's gone. Only two weeks ago, Jesse had been taken to the program by escorts to deal with substance abuse problems. Jeopardizing his flagging PR job in New York, Mentor rushes across the country to find Jesse, who is off on his own quest: to find Theresa, the sister he's never known. When Teddy finally discovers Jesse at a bus stop in Illinois, he is torn between sending him back or joining his son on a journey to find this girl in Kentucky. But he decides to go and they become embroiled in a grisly crime when Theresa's abusive husband Beau attacks her - Jesse stabs the big beast of a man, leaving him for dead.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A highly respected playwright, author and media executive, Gary Morgenstein is the author of three other sensational novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (March 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441492240
• ISBN-13: 978-1441492241
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,259,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My new play, "Mad Mel and the Marradians," a sci-fi romp (hmm, Gary is Syfy Channel PR Director, writes sci-fi play), will premiere at the 12th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival for five performances, premiering July 11 at 6PM; Saturday, July 16 at 2:30PM, Tuesday, July 19 at 8:30PM, Sunday, July 24 at 6PM and Thursday, July 28 at 8PM at the Main Stage Theatre, 312 West 36th Street in New York City. In the play, the ambitions of Imperial Chancellor Larynx of Marradia -- a planet very far away -- to become High Priest Dubya are threatened by writer Melvin Worthington. In his best-selling "scholarly" books about the Marradians and their visit to Earth 30,000 years ago (which he thinks he has totally made up), Worthington stumbles upon a secret that threatens the existence of the human race - bringing the Marradians to Manhattan to stop him. Directed by Carlo Fiorletta, it will star Jordan Auslander, William Beckwith, Rachel Caccese, Robert Gaines and Mary Riley.

My previous plays were "Ponzi Man" and "A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx."

And remember to join me Sundays at 9PM/ET for my radio show, "Purple Haze" at blogtalkradio.com/mediablvd. The number is 347-205-9801.

I am also the author of four novels. "Jesse's Girl" is a thriller about a widowed Brooklyn father who searches for his adopted teenage son, who has run away from a Montana wilderness drug treatment program to find his biological sister in Kentucky. In the romantic triangle "Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman," a divorced middle-aged man falls in love with a beautiful, enigmatic woman rabbi, while still in love with his ex-wife. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a political baseball novel -- baseball and bailouts, as American as appple pie --follows a Cinderella baseball team led by a ruthless owner with political ambitions. "The Man Who Wanted to Play Center Field for the New York Yankees" is a baseball Rocky. All are available on Amazon.

My dating and relationship book, "How to Find a Woman...Or Not" provides a comic guide to finding true love anywhere on Planet Earth -- in the gym, on the street, riding mass transit, waiting to get your teeth cleaned, visiting a friend in the hospital, buying a book or lamb chops -- or dating online.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really solid book, May 27, 2009

By 

P. Ramirez "Em18966" (Somewhere in Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesse's Girl (Paperback)

I received Jesse's Girl by Gary Morgenstein for review yesterday. While I was intrigued, I wasn't particularly hopeful that it was going to be much of a page-turner. Was I ever wrong. I really got into the story from the very beginning. As I come from a family that has had its own issues with addiction and chemical dependence, it is possible that I was able to better relate to the characters in this novel, thus making it more real to me.

The premise of the book centers on Teddy Mentor and his sixteen year old adopted son, Jesse. Jesse has been sent away to a wilderness program in rural Montana in a last ditch effort to put an end to the drug problems that have plagued him for years. The problems escalated after the death of his adopted mother (and Teddy's soon to be ex wife), and had reached a point where Teddy had to admit he was incapable of controlling or protecting his child. With nowhere else to turn, he entrusts his only child to the professionals at the Mountain Wilderness Center.

Big mistake. Not two weeks later he gets a 1AM phone call. His son is missing. Risking his job, he books a flight away from Brooklyn and towards his son. After a couple days of searching, he gets the break he needs and tracks his son to a bus stop in Illinois, en route to Kentucky to meet his long-lost birth sister (whom Jesse leads Teddy to believe is his long-distance girlfriend). Jesse swears up and down that he is done with the drugs; in that convincing way all users seem to have. However, it isn't long before Teddy notices that he is missing some of his antidepressants and that his son occasionally reeks of beer. Jesse's lies come to a head when he OD's on heroin in the middle of the night while sharing a hotel room with his dad.

Torn between institutionalizing Jesse for his own good and joining him on his trek to meet his `girlfriend', Teddy relents and the two continue on to Kentucky. When they arrive at Theresa's, they are introduced to her `brother' Beau. Beau is actually Theresa's abusive husband, and within a few hours he and Jesse get into a particularly brutal altercation that ends with Jesse stabbing him. This unintentional act of violence spurs a run from the law that leads Teddy and Jesse into the heart of Jesse's birth family. It also forces the two to address the issues that have destroyed their relationship.

Jesse's Girl was a very unexpected read. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Not only was it an emotional family drama, it was also full of action and even (a little) romance. I easily give it five stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Raw Story of Unconditional Love, August 4, 2009

By 

The Book Faery Reviews (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesse's Girl (Paperback)

As a parent of 3 children (3, 8,9) this book had me thinking about and of course worrying about the things my kids might get into when they get older. I wonder, while I know I would love them without a doubt regardless of their choices in life, how far will I go for them? Teddy, Jesse's adopted father, reminded me of my own dad and step-dad who loved me unconditionally no matter how frustrating I may have been at times growing up. I highly recommend this book filled with raw emotions to any pa...more As a parent of 3 children (3, 8,9) this book had me thinking about and of course worrying about the things my kids might get into when they get older. I wonder, while I know I would love them without a doubt regardless of their choices in life, how far will I go for them? Teddy, Jesse's adopted father, reminded me of my own dad and step-dad who loved me unconditionally no matter how frustrating I may have been at times growing up. I highly recommend this book filled with raw emotions to any parent struggling with doubt of their abilities while loving their older kids. (WARNING...there is foul language in this novel.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trisha's Book Blog Review, January 10, 2010

By 

Trisha's Book Blog "Trisha" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesse's Girl (Paperback)

This book started off good right from the beginning. Teddy Mentor gets a phone call that his son has run away from the wilderness program which deals with substance abuse problems. After getting this call Teddy goes off to look for his son Jesse. They don't have the best relationship after Teddy's wife dies and Teddy deals with the fact that Jesse is adopted and feels he will never get love from him like a real father and son relationship does. He also does with the fear of something terrible happening to his son with all of the drugs and drinking that he does. They just have a real tough relationship with each other.
Then after Teddy finds Jesse, Jesse tells his dad about a girl that he was running away to see. I have to say that after reading the back of the book I was confused on who Theresa was. A little more than half way through the story completely changes and then it started to come together. Teddy and Jesse's relationship gets a little better after they meet up with Theresa. Theresa is fun in the book. Her mouth runs non stop, she has humor, and she is just a fun character in the book. After Teddy finds out who Beau really is, the pieces of why Jesse wanted to see Theresa so bad comes together.
Theresa and Jesse's relationship puzzled me. After reading the back of the book it said that Jesse goes off to meet his sister. But the way they act in the beginning of the book it seemed like they were boyfriend and girlfriend. They had a close relationship, Jesse listened to everything Theresa said and they grew close. Theresa didn't act bad in the beginning of the book. She reminded me of a trailer trash version of the girl next door. But then after Teddy finds out who Theresa really is, Jesse and hers relationship changes, and it seems to do so quickly and Theresa changes in a page it seems. She goes to swearing, you find out she has done some bad thing and it is like her and Jesse's relationship isn't really fun anymore in the book.
The book does get confusing in some parts. To me it seemed like Theresa was such a good liar that it got kind of confusing on what was the truth and what wasn't. You meet some other cool characters in the book, most meet a dead end after Beau caught up with them after Jesse and Theresa leave him for deal, only to find out he is still alive and after them. And the book got really good at the end. Gun fire everywhere, Beau finally got what he deserved and Teddy and Jesse's relationship gets really good!