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Kenneth Tingle
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The Girl in the Italian Bakery Kindle Edition

by Kenneth Tingle (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 894 ratings
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Life didn’t do Kenny Tingle any favors. In The Girl in the Italian Bakery, follow his journey from childhood in a tough housing project north of Boston, the abduction and disappearance of a childhood friend, to the complete destruction of a family. His introduction to crime and the years he spent in foster homes. The poor choices he made in high school and the startling climax on prom night. Although he never has trouble meeting girls, the one girl he longs for always seems out of reach. The Girl in the Italian Bakery is the remarkably true story of always keeping hope, even when there is little left to hope for. This is a story of surviving through extreme adversity, and, ultimately, redemption.
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  1. Print length
    250 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 23, 2011
  5. File size
    389 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Kenneth M. Tingle is a former United States Marine. His various duties included membership in a security detachment for the U.S. embassy, Cairo, Egypt. He holds degrees in Health Care Management and Registered Nursing, both earned with honors. As a college student he was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society. He has worked in numerous medical specialties, including Cardio-Pulmonary medicine at Spaulding Rehabilitative Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, considered one of the best hospitals in the United States (U.S. News and World Report). He has worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in both the Department of Public Health and Department of Mental Retardation. He enjoys jogging and physical fitness, as well as spending time with wife Kathy, son Ken Jr., and daughter Nicole. He lives in Windham, New Hampshire.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004TMM99K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Self (March 23, 2011)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 23, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 389 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 894 ratings

About the author

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Kenneth Tingle

Kenneth Tingle

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Kenneth Tingle is the author of The Girl in the Italian Bakery and Strangeville. He is a former United States Marine. For the past seventeen years he has worked as a registered nurse in many different fields. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with wife Kathy, son Ken, Jr. and daughter Nicole. His books have been read all over the world.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
894 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

G. Emerson
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2012
Verified Purchase
To put it simply, this book is fantastic. I honestly had a hard time putting it down. Please don't be deterred by the few low ratings from people who were so caught up in waiting for "The Girl" to appear that they missed the rest of this amazing story.

What I liked most about this book was the lack of self-pity from the author. It's a memoir of his upbringing in a rough suburb and the ups and downs in his personal life. But as hard as his childhood may have been, there's very little wallowing or finger-pointing done by the author. He has embraced his past, the good and the bad, and has not allowed the negative to outweigh the positive. It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs, "For every moment of joy, every hour of fear, for every winding road that brought me here, for every breath, for every day of living, this is my thanksgiving..."

This story is very well-written, the characters well-defined and I highly recommend it. I liked it so much that I'm going to add it to my actual library, not just my virtual one.
2 people found this helpful
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ALB
4.0 out of 5 stars Putting a Personal Face to the Public Projects
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
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From the opening scene, I can feel five-year-old Kenny Tingle’s devastation at something he witnessed. Through his dialogue and description, the author draws the reader into his tough life. I suffer with and root for him and his brothers as they face the bullies that live in the projects. Tingle presents pivotal moments of his childhood, friendships and people and events that shape his behavior. Even through his problem teenage years, he never quite outgrows a core of vulnerability that reveals his heart.
I particularly like the dialogue—which gives insights into both his character and those around him. Whether it’s a family member, a friend or someone who lives above or below him in the tenement housing or stores nearby, I can visualize the scene.The author has an engaging writing style. I love how he focuses on the seasons—especially the long, carefree summers in childhood when he takes the reader through his memories of the new state pool when it opens.
Throughout his memoir, the author uses his craft to draw readers into the frustrations and pivotal moments of his life. Tingle’s memoir provides a personal face to the countless people who grow up in poverty, in the projects and the foster care system.
My favorite line in this memoir is when a boxer points out to him the merits of having a memorable name like Tingle. Yeah! I found myself wishing the author could somehow incorporate that line in the ending to mirror the problems his name caused at the beginning and throughout his memoir.It's so triumphant!
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Knowles
3.0 out of 5 stars The Girl In The Italian Bakery
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2012
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Our story begins with Kenny Tingle the youngest of three boys in the project in Lawrence, MA. Kenny and his brothers are trying to stay out of trouble but the Stadium project is a tough neighborhood and with a name like Tingle being picked on by the other kids is just part of the territory. Kenny lives with his mother and two older brothers Tommy and Gary. Tommy the oldest had mental illness and constantly tormented by the local hoodlums. Gary spends most of his time caught in the middle trying to protect his older brother while also looking after his little brother.

Over the next several years Kenny's mother struggles without any help from the boys father and Tommy is soon off to a group home, leaving Kenny and Gary behind. The boys are forced to move from one place to the next finding no real roots or sense of security. Kenny and Gary moved to an especially tough part of town and get mixed up with the wrong crowd. The next thing Kenny knows he is 11 years old and in the back of a police car in handcuffs. On probation Kenny finds it hard to walk a straight line and quickly falls back into bad habits. His mother doesn't know what to do with him and quietly gives up on him. Kenny is then placed in foster care and bounces from one family to another.

Kenny returns to his family to find his older brother has moved out and it just he and his mother now. He tries to stay out of trouble but occasionally get into mischief. One afternoon while on his way home from school Kenny gets turned around and goes a different way home and stumbles across Pappy's Bakery, there at the counter is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Kenny continues on but the beautiful girl is always in the back of his mind haunting his thoughts for years to come.

I started this book and was immediately confused with the name of the book and the point of view the book was written from, but I also love the moment when you realize the reason the book got its title.

I mostly enjoyed the book but I don't really know if I would recommend it to read. Immediately I found this as a really slow read and it took me sometime before I was really hooked and wanted to move more quickly through the book. I did find it wasn't long before I started to really enjoy all the mischief and exploits that Kenny gets himself into. If you enjoy non-fiction and don't mind the stalls in the story you might enjoy this book. It does have a nice ending and teaches a really good lesson.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Lyndi W.
4.0 out of 5 stars For lovers of 'Stand by Me'
Reviewed in Australia on July 24, 2017
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The author shares his unpromising start as the youngest of three brothers with a single mum and a dad who left when he was young and had very little contact. We are taken through his teenage years with disappointments and love interests, with the girl in the bakery a constant through life. This is a well written book that held my interest to the end.
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Kindle Customerverythe story was good and kept you guessing to the end
4.0 out of 5 stars Good storuy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this story,if it's a true one it's very sad but in this world we all have bad times ,
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JoAnne Rivard
3.0 out of 5 stars Easy read,
Reviewed in Canada on December 15, 2014
Verified Purchase
More for a coming of age book,
About a daily,having to deal with,issues,of poverty,and a broken home. At the end of his life,he is still thankful for everything he got in life
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libby_black
1.0 out of 5 stars not my cup of tea
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2011
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sadly, i should have read the reviews for this item before downloading it. full of gloom and despondency, not my cup of tea at all. only read a little and gave up!
3 people found this helpful
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Anne
1.0 out of 5 stars Deleted book after a few boring pages
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
Boring. Didn't finish the book. I could have written such a story myself. So many people have jumped on the bandwaggon of childhood 'memories' etc doesn't always work.
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