The Good Vibe Lounge Trilogy Series by Kaycee Evans, Mila Calderoni

Juxtaposition : The act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side, often to compare or contrast or… to create an interesting effect.Set in Central New Jersey, the Good Vibe Trilogy is a coming-of-age story following the lives of two young people raised in diverse yet dysfunctional environments during the late 1970s. When their lives connect, it impacts the destinies of their friends and family over a forty-year span... moreJuxtaposition : The act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side, often to compare or contrast or… to create an interesting effect.Set in Central New Jersey, the Good Vibe Trilogy is a coming-of-age story following the lives of two young people raised in diverse yet dysfunctional environments during the late 1970s. When their lives connect, it impacts the destinies of their friends and family over a forty-year span.Volume One, The Paradise We Create, introduces Andrew ‘Drew’ Reubens. As a teen, he is a girl-crazy, self-involved kid at the center of a clique of performing arts geeks. One of the many females in his sphere is unfiltered and misunderstood Alyona ‘Yoyo’ Zalenkov, being raised in a rural cult environment with warped family values.The result of their unlikely relationship is represented in the modern-day events of the story, as Andrew hosts a celebration at his Central Jersey establishment, The Good Vibe Lounge. When the younger generation of his family expresses a desire to understand more about their back story, Andrew pivots, between modern times and 1977, his climactic senior year of High School to weave the story of Drew and Yoyo... and a collection of characterful events and relationships along the way.With the help of some of his oldest friends, Andrew takes a tour of the often comedic, sometimes tragic.. but all-so-typical journey of adolescents faced with the transition to life as adults in the real world.The Good Vibe saga is a forty-year history of characters who navigate thru the wonders, challenges, and destiny of human interplay. Along the way, they take on these dynamics, with juxtaposed tales of adolescent frivolity, dysfunctional family, enduring friendship, the depth of romance and sensuous love, criminal behavior, deception, success, failure, the thrill of knowledge, personal progression, and... a good dose of recovering from regrets.And ultimately seeking to balance 'what might have been' with everything happening at the place where reality meets up with all of it… for a reason. less

‘The Challenges We Endure’ is the second installment of the Good Vibe Trilogy. It continues the stories of Andrew ’Drew' Reubens and Alyona ‘Yoyo’ Zalenkov as they venture in different directions beyond High School and encounter the trials of the real world.Alyona’s father has whisked her off to live in a remote polygamist community, where she is groomed to serve as a sister-wife... more‘The Challenges We Endure’ is the second installment of the Good Vibe Trilogy. It continues the stories of Andrew ’Drew' Reubens and Alyona ‘Yoyo’ Zalenkov as they venture in different directions beyond High School and encounter the trials of the real world.Alyona’s father has whisked her off to live in a remote polygamist community, where she is groomed to serve as a sister-wife. However, when it's revealed that she lost her virginity, her life is turned upside down into a dark and horrific world of abuse and addiction. With the assistance of her long-lost brother, Yoyo struggles to escape and survive with dreams of being reunited with Drew and her friends back in New Jersey.Meanwhile, Drew pursues his college goals but falls back into the toxic relationship that plagued much of his final years in High School. Impulsive decisions begin a cascading impact that alters the direction of his own life. At the same time, other past connections offer him chances for redemption and renewal.A single day passes in the present-day component of the narrative as Viktoria continues to learn more about her origin story as the legacy of Drew and Yoyo’s journeys leap into the 1980s to tell the continuing story of their unlikely romance.The collection of characterful friends and family return from Book One, The Paradise We Create, to reflect on the events that impacted a myriad of storylines. Several new personalities are introduced to enhance the storytelling and unveil new twists that lay the groundwork for the ultimate destinies of the 'Good Vibe' family.The Good Vibe saga is a forty-year history of characters who navigate through the wonders, challenges, and destinies of human interplay. Along the way, they take on these dynamics, with juxtaposed tales of adolescent frivolity, dysfunctional family, enduring friendship, the depth of romance and sensuous love, criminal behavior, deception, success, failure, the thrill of knowledge, personal progression, and... a good dose of recovering from regrets.And ultimately seeking to balance 'what might have been' with everything happening at the place where reality meets up with all of it… for a reason. less

‘The Legacy We Embrace is the third installment of the Good Vibe Trilogy. It continues the stories of Andrew ’Drew' Reubens and Alyona ‘Yoyo’ Zalenkov as they reunite after six years of transition, facing multiple life challenges, resulting in devastating circumstances that together they now must face. Despite the tragedies facing them, their journeys are forever forged together, as Yoyo reveals that Drew is the father of their child, Daria... more‘The Legacy We Embrace is the third installment of the Good Vibe Trilogy. It continues the stories of Andrew ’Drew' Reubens and Alyona ‘Yoyo’ Zalenkov as they reunite after six years of transition, facing multiple life challenges, resulting in devastating circumstances that together they now must face. Despite the tragedies facing them, their journeys are forever forged together, as Yoyo reveals that Drew is the father of their child, Daria.The story resumes in 1983, after their return to Central Jersey, where Andrew consults with old friends including Caroline Chen, in an effort to come to terms with the life-altering medical dilemmas they now face. The romance once shared by Yoyo and Drew is now tested in a race between time, ethics and fate.Unlike the previous two volumes, the majority of this story is presented in chronological order, featuring the lives of two more generations in Drew and Yoyo’s saga.Corporal Daria Valentova arrives at the Good Vibe in 2002 to establish a relationship with her father and introduce his granddaughter Viktoria who will become the centerpiece of the modern story and ultimately be the catalyst for change and hope in the ‘Good Vibe’ universe.As the story roars towards it’s conclusion, and the new year, 2020, the characterful cast of friends and family highlighted in the previous volumes, return to reflect and enhance the events that impacted a myriad of storylines and unveil new twists that lay the groundwork for the conclusion of this forty year saga of the human experience.The Good Vibe saga is a forty-year history of characters who navigate through the wonders, challenges, and destinies of human interplay. Along the way, they take on these dynamics, with juxtaposed tales of adolescent frivolity, dysfunctional family, enduring friendship, the depth of romance and sensuous love, criminal behavior, deception, success, failure, the thrill of knowledge, personal progression, and... a good dose of recovering from regrets.And ultimately seeking to balance 'what might have been' with everything happening at the place where reality meets up with all of it… for a reason. less