Ari Surdoval

Double Nickels Ari Surdoval

Hey ho let go.

Lost in the hard days of nothing at summer's end, while his mother sinks into opiate addiction and mental illness, Tim is an aimless teenage boy caught between the trauma of his past and the emptiness of his future. But late one night at the Stop and Shop, a chance meeting with Cara, a tough young outsider determined to outrun her own pain and loss, sparks a flicker of hope. Will they be able to transcend the crushing limits placed on them in late 1980s rural America?




"A post-punk coming-of-age story, Double Nickels is a work of hardscrabble poetry. Ari Surdoval delivers a book that's far more than just a chronicle of youthful ennui; rather, it's a finely etched portrait of those consigned to the narrow margins of society. A powerfully rendered and captivating debut." - Bob Mehr, author of the New York Times best seller Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements




"An astonishing debut-part coming-of-age story, part harrowing mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat with pacing as electrifying and rapid-fire as a Ramones song. Double Nickels is an impossible-to-put-down hero's journey through the wasteland of the mid-eighties." -Jaan Uhelszki, writer producer of Boy Howdy: The Story of Creem Magazine, founding editor, Creem