The Stolen Cascadura

Book excerpt: Eddy is an ambitious teenager. He attends one of the most prestigious boy’s colleges on the island and has big dreams. The only problem is that he lives on the Beetham, and to be from the Beetham in Trinidad society means that you would always be considered the lowest of the low, no matter what you do. The stigma of crime, drugs, violence and poverty would always be associated with people from that area. Being the best friend of the son of one of the richest and most influential men in the business world certainly does not help. The two are like brothers until Brian almost loses his life and the hand of money hungry kidnappers. Brian’s mother Sally tries desperately to salvage a marriage that is already beyond repair. Her husband’s infidelity is not as frightening to her as the thought of her becoming a divorcee. Matt defines who she is in the world and without her identity as his wife, life could become unbearable. However she slowly discovers that infidelity has its own vicious consequences. Jesse Guevara is the eldest of five and the daughter of simple Santa Cruz Valley farmers. She is smart and beautiful and her teachers at St. Joseph’s Convent believe that she will be able to get a scholarship. Lisa is her best friend and although faced with the challenge of living with an alcoholic replacement for her father, never loses her joie de vivre. Jesse, Brian, Eddy and Lisa are all from different backgrounds and different socioeconomic status. However, when the lives of these four young people and their families collide through circumstance, their vulnerability is revealed and their secrets exposed. Each of them discovers that there is something they hold dear to their hearts. Something that once stolen can never be replaced.