Book Synopsis
Living in the height of the fresh '90s New Jack Swing culture, talented twelve year-old Julius considered himself an insignificant kid, until the day he meets beautiful nineteen year-old Anisha, and unbeknownst to her, falls completely in love-at-first-sight, innocently promising her that he will one day marry her when he grows up. During emotional fleeting moments with unsuspecting Anisha through years deeper in his adolescence, he longs to stand out from the world of men also vying for her affection. So he secretly vows to try and keep the only virtue that might set him apart and show her undeniable proof of his dedication: his virginity, that is, if that magical day to tell her would ever come. But inundated in a young sexually liberated society, he must find the fortitude to desperately hold on and suppress the evolving dark side of him that threatens his conviction. In an existence deeply contrasted by their age, he wants nothing more than to just get to her...even if it means sacrificing his every ambition as he prepares to be a man. Following the true account set in suspenseful uncertainty, from the neighborhoods of Detroit, to the majestic green hills of Duluth, Minnesota and to the brick barracks of military basic training in Texas, The Promise of Benton Harbor is an inspiring and sweeping epic, a modern coming-of-age love story about lost chivalry in a new era and a young man's extraordinary journey to fulfill a promise.