Fight or Flight

A South Side Story

By: Joseph Durette

Narrated by: Michael Kirby, Marquiz Moore, Samar Nanda, Eric Jenkins, Brian Wiggins, Rick Steadman, Fernando Contreras, Nick Messina, Eric Burgher, Matt Weisgerber, Eric Aragoni, Hunter Gather, Samantha Cooper, David Wood, Michael Reaves

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Forbidden love and fierce rivalry drive Jeff Hollister, a street-smart high school senior and gang leader of the Hurricanes, to the brink of disaster. Thinking he’s got the world in his back pocket, and the police at a safe distance, he and his scrappy gang of teenage delinquents come to discover they don’t always come out on top after all.

A deadly vow by a member of the rival Tornadoes gang sets Jeff and his friends on a roller coaster of knife fray and gunplay, foot races and car chases, trust and betrayal, and murder. The death of a beloved friend serves a painful slap of reality to the Hurricanes that incites a burning desire for vengeance among the gang.

With angry players going rogue, and weapons in the wrong hands, even the leaders are out of their depth. To make matters worse, Jeff is sidetracked by his budding love for Cindy, whose father just so happens to be the new police chief—the one person the Hurricane leader most wants to avoid. Yet she might also be the catalyst that can save Jeff from his own devices—if it doesn’t kill her first...

Full cast of narrators:

Michael Kirby

Marquiz Moore

Samar Nanda

Eric Jenkins

Brian Wiggins

Rick Steadman

Fernando Contreras

Nick Messina

Eric Burgher

Matt Weisgerber

Eric Aragoni

Hunter Gather

Samantha Cooper

David Wood

Michael Reaves

Peter Borys

©2023 Joseph Durette (P)2023 Joseph Durette

Violence of the Hurricanes and Tornados

Hurricanes and Tornados are not just components of the weather! They are two street gangs with a rivalry that turns deadly. Jeff along with his friends are faced with a gang war that results in the death of a close friend and the kidnapping of his girlfriend.  The girlfriend of the new Chief of Police has a growing distaste for Jeff and the growing mess of violence, destruction, and criminal behaviors.  Jeff has some major decisions to make in his teenage angst, but will they be the right ones?

Joseph Durette, the author, weaves an exhilarating story with edge-of-your-chair moments, teenage angst, violence, and more. All the characters are well-developed and build an emotional connection to the listener. The dialogue is rich and authentic sounding. Vibrant details paint a vivid picture for the listener drawing them deeper into the story.  The plot twists were executed perfectly, and most were unexpected.

The narrators, Michael Kirby, Marquiz Moore, Samar Nanda, Eric Jenkins, Brian Wiggins, Rick Steadman, Fernando Contreras, Nick Messina, Eric Burgher, Matt Weisgerber, Eric Aragoni, Hunter Gather, Samantha Cooper, David Wood, Michael Reaves, Peter Borys, all add to the character connections and excitement of the storyline.  The use of multiple narrators allowed the characters to come to life more vividly and the team worked well together.  Their performances flowed together smoothly.

This was an entertaining book that pulled the audience in from the first words until the last!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Tedious, Amateurish, & Not Credible

This story was a struggle to listen to from start to finish. Poor word choices, gang members who never used vulgarity, lengthy and repetitive action scenes. I felt as though a middle school kid was trying to explain a '50s TV gang movie.