Toni: a novel

by Rachel Noelle

Meet Bellatona Rossi or Toni, a feisty seventeen-year old Italian belle who is exiled to a small town off the coast of Croatia after revealing to her parents of her dream to become the next Joan Jett. Instead of using these new unfamiliar surroundings as a way to reestablish her thinking, Toni defiantly views this banishment as an opportunity to get an unsupervised head-start on her dream to become a singer. Her prayers are answered in the form of the Crabapple Boys, a local band seeking a lead vocalist.But there’s a age discrimination.In order for Toni to even have a chance, she must be at least over the age of twenty-two. So with the help of two unlikely new school friends, this sparky teenager creates her second identity. Armed with a brilliant singing voice and a new and far more mature personality, Toni plunges into a lifestyle that keeps her on her toes in maintaining both selves of her cramped life. Teenage sophistication is ultimately put to the test.Rachel Noëlle creates the first installment in a series that chronicles the lives of a powerful group of musicians hailing from unexpected roots.And it all started with Toni.

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2013