Brief

Six years ago, a boy's father went missing on Christmas Eve. At 13, he's focused on protecting his family and his friends, who he inspires to start their own gang to compete with the others in their neighborhood. When he accidentally witnesses the murder of an undercover cop while committing his own crimes, he becomes embroiled in a mystery much larger than him.

What We Liked

The characters and their journeys are so strong, and they’re perfectly set up for an audience to love (or, in some cases, hate) them. Angelo is empathetic, and he’s always easy to root for. He’s the underdog, but he’s never alone. His friends and family are always there for him, which is heartening in what could be a darker story. With a hard-won positive ending that feels realistic, this story is really the complete package.

Film: This book is tailor-made to be a compelling entry in the well loved crime film genre. It brings a new twist in that Angelo is much younger than the average protagonist in a Mafia movie, making it feel fresh and accessible to a wider audience. These kinds of movies are produced every year, often to awards and great acclaim, and there’s bound to be a good deal of interest both on the industry side as well as the audience’s.

TV: It’s easy to imagine Angelo’s story expanded, as there are already several characters involved. The number of characters with their own specific and interesting subplots means there’s no shortage of routes to take and episodes to be had. The mystery of Angelo’s missing father as well as what he saw in the park could easily be drawn out for an entire first season, and a TV series could age alongside Angelo and those in his life.

Key points: Awards potential; Great characters to draw A-list talent; Familiar New York crime background with a twist; Engaging mystery ; Inspired by some true events and locations

Synopsis

On Christmas Eve 1951, ANGELO’s father MAC disappears into the night. Six years later, Angelo still lives in the New York City projects with his mother ANNA, as well as Mac’s brother JOHNNY, who’s been agoraphobic since returning from the war. Mac is presumed dead, and Angelo feels responsible for his family.

Angelo stands up for people when he can, like his best friend TATE. Young single mother Anna struggles with Angelo’s recklessness, and she confides in a local priest FATHER JOE. Joe practically raised Mac and Johnny, and he’s good friends with NUNZIO SABINO, a Mafia boss and Angelo’s mother's godfather. Angelo works for BOOKMAN’s deli. The man talked badly about his mother years ago, after Mac’s disappearance, and Angelo has regretted not standing up for her while planning his revenge. Unbeknownst to anyone, Angelo sets an explosion in the cellar of the shop. It’s much bigger than he expected, and it destroys the shop and injures him.

As he’s rushing home, he’s pulled into hiding by SAMMY, a homeless man. Sammy is wearing the shirt of the Satan’s Knights gang, a ruthless organization that Angelo has run foul of before. Sammy tells him they gave him this shirt, which says “Marty,” in exchange for his. Unbeknownst to either of them, Marty was an undercover cop the Knights killed. Angelo pays Sammy for hiding him, and Sammy gives him a coin he found in return. The coin is actually the saint medallion from the necklace that ERNESTO, a younger Knight, likes to show off. Angelo hangs onto it, knowing it will make Ernesto mad. Angelo pretends to get hit by a car to hide his wounds, but he ends up having to confess to his Uncle Nunzio so that Nunzio doesn’t go after anyone else for the crime. Nunzio is sympathetic as Angelo did it for the right reasons, but he encourages Angelo to come to him for help next time.

Angelo turns thirteen, and he, Tate, and their friends agree they should start a gang: The Reapers. The Knights are all on the hunt for Ernesto’s medallion since it ties them to Marty’s murder. Meanwhile Angelo views the Knights as responsible for Mac’s death, and he wants revenge on them. Father Joe starts to put together the pieces, and he tries to look out for Sammy since he knows something even if he doesn’t quite realize it. The Knights begin calling the Reapers the Weepers because Angelo tears up when he gets hit in the face by one of them. His Uncle Johnny encourages him to lean into the name instead of fighting it. Angelo overhears a plot by the Knights to attack Nunzio. Angelo races to tell Nunzio before anything can happen. The Knights are mad that now they have Nunzio against them, and they suspect that Angelo has the medallion. JIMMY fights Angelo on a rooftop, and Jimmy ends up falling to his death. This gains the Weepers and Angelo a dangerous reputation. Sammy winds up dead, and thanks to Angelo’s tip a DETECTIVE HARTZ who’s close with his family realizes the Knights are likely to blame for both him and Marty.

Hartz and Anna’s brother FRANK realize that a parolee, WILLIE MAX, was involved with Mac’s death. Frank interrogates Willie and learns that he and STAN were commissioned by the Knights to kill Mac. Father Joe, though, believes that Mac was left to die in the trunk, because no one actually saw Mac’s body. Frank kills Willie, and Joe goes to Italy to track down a lead on Mac. Mac has stayed away for six years to keep his family safe, but now that everyone involved is dead, he feels like he can return. Meanwhile the Weepers agree to play a playground game with the Knights, but the Knights instead use the opportunity to beat Angelo in return for Jimmy’s death. Nunzio’s men and Johnny’s army buddies step in just in time and kill two of the Knights attacking Angelo and his young friends. Nunzio gives the credit to the Weepers, though, so that Angelo is safer on the streets. Mac returns to New York, and Angelo cautiously accepts him back into his life.

About The Author

Nick Chiarkas grew up in the Al Smith housing projects in the Two Bridges neighborhood on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. When he was in fourth grade his mother was told by the principal of PS-1 that he was unlikely to ever complete high school, so she “must steer him toward a simple and secure vocation.” Instead, he became a writer, with a few stops along the way: a New York City Police Officer, the Deputy Chief Counsel for the President’s Commission on Organized Crime, and the Director of the Wisconsin State Public Defender Agency. On the way he picked up a doctorate from Columbia University and a law degree from Temple University, and he was a Pickett Fellow at Harvard. How many mothers are told their child is hopeless? How many kids with potential simply surrender to desperation? That’s why Nick wrote WEEPERS—for them.