In summer of 1965, Christopher Ricci's mother has runaway. Unable to take care of him, his father decides to leave the thirteen year old with his own sister in upstate New York. In this poignant coming of age novel, Chris tries his best to adapt to life in rural New York, navigate first love, and make sense of his changing world.

"In SHE'S NOT THERE, Richard Vetere captures the youthful curiosity of a young boy slowly becoming a man while experiencing the turmoil of his mother running away, the external threat of the Vietnam War and civil rights riots, all during the dramatic summer of 1965. Vetere paints this world vividly and shows us, through Chris, that even love can be fickle. It is Sarah who steals his heart. She is a wild, insightful, almost magical young woman, who represents a world that is turning upside down and will never be the same."--Bobby Moresco, Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay, Crash

"Richard Vetere is a hook-you-and-hang-on-for-the-ride storyteller. This is one of his best. Like me, you may even want to read it again."--Shirrel Rhoades, Former Fiction Editor, The Saturday Evening Post

"Richard Vetere has created an evocative world with sensitively drawn, genuine characters you grow to care about. At the center of it all is the wonderful, sweet story of awakening emotions and learning lessons about love, experienced through the eyes of two intriguing and complex teenagers."--Linda Habjan, Vice President of Acquisitions, Dramatic Publishings

"Vetere demonstrates the ability to mix the poetic with the colloquial."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

Fiction.