Join Deepa Zargarpur in conversation with Charity Alyse for the release of her debut novel Other Side of the Tracks.
About the Book
This lilting and riveting young adult debut novel about three teens entangled by secret love, open hatred, and the invisible societal constraints wrapped around people both Black and white is perfect for readers of All American Boys and The Hate U Give.
There is an unspoken agreement between the racially divided towns of Bayside and Hamilton: no one steps over the train tracks that divide them. Or else.
Not until Zach Whitman anyway, a white boy who moves in from Philly and who dreams of music. When he follows his dream across the tracks to meet his idol, the famous jazz musician who owns The Sunlight Record Shop in Hamilton, he’s flung into Capri Collins’s path.
Capri has big plans: she wants to follow her late mother’s famous footsteps, dancing her way onto Broadway, and leaving this town for good, just like her older brother, Justin, is planning to do when he goes off to college next year. As sparks fly, Zach and Capri realize that they can help each other turn hope into a reality, even if it means crossing the tracks to do it.
But one tragic night changes everything. When Justin’s friend, the star of Hamilton’s football team, is murdered by a white Bayside police officer, the long-standing feud between Bayside and Hamilton becomes an all-out war And Capri, Justin, and Zach are right in the middle of it.
About the Author
Charity Alyse earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature at Rowan University and is currently working toward a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Therapy. She is an avid watcher of Jane Austen movies and vows to complete every item on her bucket list, including one day touring the world as the lead singer of an afro-punk band. Publishing a book was also one of them.
Her debut novel, Other Side of the Tracks comes out in fall 2022 with Denene Millner Books, an imprint of Simon Teen. She currently resides in New Jersey.
About Deeba Zargarpur
DEEBA ZARGARPUR is an Afghan-Uzbek American. She credits her love of literature across various languages to her immigrant parents, whose eerie tales haunted her well into the night.
If given the choice, Deeba would spend her days getting lost in spooky towns with nothing but a notebook and eye for adventure to guide her.
Her debut YA novel, House of Yesterday, releases from FSG BYR on November 29, 2022.
Her debut MG novel, Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate, releases from Labyrinth Road in Summer 2023.
Deeba is represented by Elana Roth Parker at Laura Dail Literary.