“If you read, you can learn to think for yourself.” Those words came from esteemed novelist Doris Lessing some years ago, when speaking of the value of public libraries and their role in creating an informed citizenry. 

The royals are fun, engaging and great fodder for gossip, but spare me. We fought a war to get rid of them. The Declaration of Independence in July, 1776 listed twenty-seven grievances against George III. Among his offenses it was noted, “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."

So Not Yonkers by Patricia Vaccarino has been released. Ms. Vaccarino’s controversial coming-of-age novels take us on a dark journey encountering racism, sexual harassment, abortion, child abuse, homophobia, mental illness, organized crime, violence, death, lost love and lost friendship among the working class and poor in Yonkers. So Not Yonkers is the third book in her Yonkers trilogy.