Yo! Phoenix! a Story about Tough Love

The Lakota Ferry transports its motley crew, a mélange of bad attitudes, to the posh Phoenix Program located on Garthbay Island. The Program is the brainchild of philanthropist Alexander Gerard, the 4th. It's a pseudo-military academy created to inspire youths to celebrate rites of passage, to raise their self esteem, and learn the life skills needed to succeed. Wealthy parents pay exorbitant amounts of money to redirect their wayward progenies. The Gerard foundation also grants a full scholarship to a few indigent youths, a secret known only to Dr. Fletcher, the Head Master. Cadets face the rigors of boot camp, strange rite-of-passage rituals and stringent academic schedules. Although their accommodations rival opulent five star hotels, cameras peer into every corner of their lives. The cadets are not happy, but one day everything changes. Straight out of a detention center, handsome, mastermind Cadet Theodore Anthony discovers the "control" room, the heart of the Island. He takes control of the cameras at night, after the personnel have retired. With unlimited access to the wine cellars, Theo and his friends partake in boisterous parties. Teens, reeling from puberty, ride the erotic wave of their youth. This a story of trust and discovery, friendship and betrayal. Debaucheries threaten to destroy the nearly perfect setting. Eventually, however, the privileged blanket is lifted to expose well-concealed secrets about the Phoenix Program, culminating in a riveting climax for the participants and staff as well. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lise Y. McKay was born in the Canadian Appalachian Mountains; her parents immigrated to the United States when she was ten. Married at seventeen, she raised four children and is presently spoiling eight grandchildren. Lise has performed volunteer work with teens, victims of sexual abuse, and court-supervised adolescent males. She earned a Master's degree from Rhode Island College and worked as a psychotherapist until she launched her writing career. She lives in Rhode Island, with her husband but family and friends are never far.