Where We Belong: A nostalgic coming-of-age novel set in 1985, where friendship, family, and heritage help one boy discover where he belongs.

In the spring of 1985, fourteen-year-old Tony Venturi is old enough to feel the world shifting beneath his feet, but not yet old enough to know what to do about it.

Born into an Italian-American family that left New Jersey for South Georgia, Tony has spent the last several years living between worlds . . . between North and South, between old-world tradition and small-town America, and between the person he always was and the one he is slowly becoming. In middle school, he has friends, routines, and the kind of ordinary life that feels permanent when you are young. But with high school looming and childhood beginning to slip quietly from his grasp, Tony starts to realize that growing up is not just about getting older, it’s about figuring out who you are, where you belong, and what parts of yourself you’ve been too afraid to claim.

As the months unfold and new neighbors enter his life, Tony’s relationships deepen, drawing him into a season of change that alters the way he sees the people and world around him. Slowly, he begins to understand that home is not something you inherit whole, but something you build over time, piece by piece, through memory, tradition, and the steady love of family and friends.

Set against the backdrop of an almost-forgotten 1980s boyhood, Where We Belong is a warm, nostalgic, coming-of-age novel. A story about friendship, heritage, faith, and the quiet ache of growing older while still longing for the world you are just beginning to leave behind.