The Rooftop

Imagine your fighting in awar, but instead of fighting for your country, you're fighting strictly for thelove of your peers and 'hood.' Then imagine in the middle of all ofthis fighting, you meet the love of your life. And you're told you can't lovethem because they are the enemy. The Rooftop is a unique novel that will entice TerryMcMillan readers and have Eric Jerome Dickey devotees up all night trying tofigure it out before the end. Romelo Jones, the leading character, finds hislove but has to keep it a secret for fear of family and friends reaction. Whenthat proves to be impossible, he is caught between choices. But not the kind oflife choices you or I might face. The Rooftop is based loosely on a true story. Ittakes place in a small section of NYC, where I was raised. The main characters, Romelo Jones and Jada Romain are both growing up in the middle of a territorialwar amongst two tough neighboring housing complexes in the Bronx. Romelo istaught at an early age to 'represent his hood' at all cost. WhenRomelo meets the girl of his dreams, he soon discovers that Jada is fromwarring Vector Houses. In the middle of all of the fighting and peer pressurefrom family and friends, the two try to keep their relationship a secret. Whenthat proves impossible to do, both Jada and Romelo are forced to make a choicebetween love of neighborhood and their love for each other.