The Soul Patrol

The Soul Patrol

Nancy Drew Meets Harry Potter.

This new book blends mystery and the supernatural with difficult life lessons for adolescents.

The adolescent years are filled with pressures from peers, parents, schools, or young people themselves. It's also the time when many kids rebel or, conform to what society expects of them. It is clear today's teen's face have more to deal with than their parents.

Bruno Grigoletti's new book, The Soul Patrol, addresses many of these issues in a creative, even fun way for adolescents and parents. The book focuses on the lives of two sisters who are faced with the pending divorce of their parents and loss of their best friend to an untimely death. In addition to these problems, they experience strange supernatural occurrences which they believe are the unsettled soul of their departed friend who has yet to 'cross-over.'

The girls now have a mission despite the upheaval circumstances in their lives - help their friend's soul cross over into eternal peace!

The book provides young readers with lessons of purpose, values, and determination despite the tragedy life sometimes brings. It teaches the power of choice to do the right thing when faced with issues, worries and concerns many adults even face.

Grigoletti's inspiration for writing the book comes from being a parent of two adolescent daughters and seeing the daily pressures they face.

He says of his book, "This is not a book that sugar coats the issues or the disposition of the characters. I wanted my protagonists to feel alive and real even though they are stuck in a larger-than-life paranormal situation. Too many books out there currently are fiction for the sake of fiction. I believe the best fiction mirrors life."

"I doubt many of us will fall in love with a vampire in the middle of a small rural town, but at some point we will all lose someone we love. The Soul Patrol series uses fictional plot lines to deal with and handle the more difficult issues facing today's 'tweens.' School lock-downs, teen pregnancy, Internet dangers and bullying are just some of the problems I address."

"The characters are meant to more believable than the Nancy Drew type," Grigoletti adds. "I wanted my young adult readers to relate to them and yet my older readers to see the complexity of these modern 'tweens.' Kids are far savvier today."

The Soul Patrol is written with the 9-13 year old in mind but is also a fascinating read for older teenagers, mystery lovers and parents looking for a creative way to address tough issues with their children.

The Soul Patrol can be purchased through all major online book retailers.

Bruno Grigoletti has been writing short stories and poetry for most of his life. His passion for writing first became evident when he received honors at a young writers workshop at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania while still attending high school. He has contributed to several different periodicals over the years and continues to enjoy sharing his imagination with his friends and family through various creative outlets.

Bruno and his wife Claudia are raising their two 'tween' age daughters. They live in northern New Jersey and are always busy transporting their kids from one social event to another. The Soul Patrol is Bruno's first full length novel and he is currently working on the second book in this series called 'Five Against One' which should be released by the summer of next year.

The Soul Patrol
Smith Publicity
Author: Bruno Grigoletti

Interview with Bruno Grigoletti

Do you think that adolescent life is harder now, than when you were at school, in regards to conformity and the pressure to breaking the rules?

Bruno Grigoletti: Yes. There has always been peer pressure, smoking, drinking, teen promiscuity and the like, but with all the technology and internet availability that is out there in the world, I believe it is much tougher on kids today then when I was in school.


Why do you think this is? Does the media play a large role in this?

Bruno Grigoletti: The media, advertisers and the web make it much harder on kids who are trying to find themselves and develop into the people that they are capable of becoming. Let's face it, cool, years ago was what you saw on television, before that, what you heard on the radio and before that, what you saw you're older siblings and their friends doing. In our world today, Hollywood, New York, Paris, Milan and Tokyo tell our kids what's cool and what's not. Kids aren't just growing up they are being targeted constantly as a consumer group that people my age are trying to manipulate for profit at any cost.

Fortunately, kids today are much smarter and in many ways have far more common sense then we did 20 years ago. Thanks in part, to websites like yours that help educate and discuss crucial issues that 'today's' kids might have to face, like the loss of a best friend or internet bullying.


Why did you decide to write the book and where did the idea come from?

Bruno Grigoletti: That's a great question. Much of my previous fiction is a bit more adult based but my daughters were hearing people discuss some of my story ideas and concepts yet could not read the work. So, they finally approached me and asked me to write something that they could actually read and enjoy. Given the task and being a parent, I decided to use the story to help them and teach them about a topic that up to this point in their lives they have been very fortunate not to have had to deal with, loss. After working on the first few chapters, I decided to make it a series and brought 'The Soul Patrol' to life.


How does the novel, The Soul Patrol educating adolescents to make better choices throughout their teenage life?

Bruno Grigoletti: This first book is about the loss of a friend and how a broken family deals with a "dark secret" all the while trying to help the friend's ghost find peace. If anything though, I feel it will teach kids that people aren't perfect including their parents but unconditional love can fix almost any problem. Future books in the series will show more about teen choices and school pressures, especially the second book that I am working on now called, 'Five against One.' There Caitlin will be pushed, antagonized and bullied to the point where her school friends decide to intervene on her behalf. I won't give it all away but it's going to be a real page turner. But for the fans of the first book I will say this, rest assured the whole gang from Nicole to Aunt Katrina will return. Even Kelsey's ghost might just show up to help and perhaps even save the day.


Did you add the mystery and supernatural themes to the novel to ensure teenagers found the book more appealing?

Bruno Grigoletti: That's another great question. My background is actually in writing supernatural and suspense short stories, so taking the characters into that plot environment felt very natural for me. That theme will of course continue throughout the series in some special ways and with some very creepy surprises.