STEALING GREENWICH
A THIEF TURNED ROBIN HOOD TAKES ON THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY TOWN IN NEW MIDDLE-GRADE BOOK
Greenwich struck Brittany Geragotelis as a great place for a heist. Not an actual heist, of course. The 41-year-old Los Angeles resident is an author, not a career criminal. But when she was seeking a setting for her middlegrade novel “The Infamous Frankie Lorde 1: Stealing Greenwich” — about a middleschool student who engages in some highstakes thievery — Greenwich seemed like a perfect scene for the crime.
“I think it’s a good mix of having a small-town feel and it’s got quite a bit of wealth, which comes in handy when you’ve got a main character who is a thief,” Geragotelis said of the middle-grade fiction, which refers to books written for readers between the ages of 8 and 12.
That character, Frankie, is something of a tween, female Danny Ocean of the “Oceans” film franchise. When the book opens, her father has been sent to prison for crimes they committed as a globetrotting father-daughter con team. Frankie is sent to live with her uncle — a police detective — in Greenwich. While there, Frankie vows to turn over a new leaf, but when she learns about a wealthy real estate magnate who is mistreating his lower-income clients, she decides to rob the slumlord and give back to those he’s exploiting.
“I liked the idea of having a Robin Hood-type story, but with a female lead,” Geragotelis said.
She sid she wanted to capture the opulence of Greenwich (there’s a scene at a swanky masquerade ball), but also the town’s intimacy. Complicating matters is the fact that Geragotelis has never lived in Greenwich. Her parents live in Norwich, which, as she points out, has a much different feel than the ritzy Fairfield County burg. Her closest connection to the town is a longtime friend who lives in Greenwich, and whom she regularly pumped for information.
“I have a very good friend who lives there, and I have stayed with her there,” Geragotelis said. “I’ve always liked Greenwich.”
She also spoke to her friend’s daughter, who is close to the age of her tween heroine. Geragotelis said she asked the girl what she liked to do in town and where she liked to go. That’s how the crepe restaurant MeliMelo came to play a cameo in her book.
“My friend is a big fan of theirs and her daughter really likes it,” Geragotelis explained.
Though Geragotelis has written other books for young readers, this is her first middle-grade novel and noted there is a different set of rules for writing for younger readers.
“I can’t tell you how difficult it is to find put-down words that are appropriate for middle grade,” she said. “That was the hardest thing — coming up with snarky, middle-school put-downs that didn’t cross that line.”
The plus side of writing for the middle grade level is that they are the group most likely to receive her book’s message of helping those in need.
“Middle grade is around the time that kids really start to think outside of themselves,” Geragotelis said. “It’s the first time they start to care about other things. It’s when they’re most open to sticking up for the little guy.”
Throughout the course of the book, Frankie goes from someone who puts herself first to someone who cares about others. Geragotelis said she hopes that young readers are drawn to her book not just for its fun heist story, but also for its message about the importance of looking out for others.
“One person can make a difference,” Geragotelis said. “It doesn’t have to be a big huge thing. It can be as small as telling someone that it’s not OK to call someone a name.”