Shannon Brown

Rock'n'roll in Locker Seventeen Shannon Brown

In 1964 Ricky Stevenson was living the rock'n'roll dream. He was on the top of the charts, and on the cover of almost every fan magazine. What those publications didn't tell you was that he had no privacy, few real friends, and a hectic schedule of touring and recording. Though tempted to lose himself in a haze of drugs and alcohol, Ricky knew it would only be a temporary escape. What Ricky wanted was to be rid of the pressures of fame for good, so one day he simply disappeared. Thirty years later people were still speculating about the fate of Ricky Stevenson, especially Ricky's biggest fan, Steven White. Seventeen year old Steven is anything but your typical high school junior. While the rest of his classmates are perfectly happy spending all their time and money at the local mall, Steven spends his days combing the aisles of local thrift stores, and listening to oldies. Steven first became fascinated by the missing musician one fateful day in eighth grade when a classmate had pointed out his uncanny resemblance to Ricky. Soon afterwards, Steven becomes an avid fan. He watched every Ricky Stevenson documentary, bought any book or magazine about the star and relentlessly searches for original copies of Ricky's records. Steven even tries to dress like Ricky because he figures looking like a teen idol could be the fastest route to attracting Justine Weeks the prettiest girl in his English class. Rock'N'Roll in Locker Seventeen is a novel about what happens to Steven when he discovers what really happened to the missing star. As the media invades Steven's city and his family visits Los Angeles, Steven goes from your typical star struck 17 year old to a young man who realizes that sometimes all you really need is the life you already have.