"...NOT... ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD PERISH." Matthew 18: 14

Matthew 18:12-13 is an unconventional love story set against the backdrop of dysfunctional Los Angeles inner city schools, gangs, raves, Ecstasy, drug dealing, early sexual activity and communal living. It involves a deep cast of fresh characters as unpredictable as real life. The protagonists are little Melissa Flores, an abused ghetto rat marching into the same life that trapped her unstable mother, and Bunky Bunkowski, a retired executive, now a middle school math teacher.

Their lives intersect in his seventh grade classroom. He sees a lost little girl, and anxious for a “genuine inner city experience” determines to bring her back to the fold. Headstrong and confident, Melissa bristles at the idea she’s lost; but she is intrigued by Bunkowski’s world and determines to use the old man for her own ends.

Their relationship slowly builds, but it is sorely tested in the book’s powerful climax. Melissa finally faces the stark reality she’s strayed beyond her ability to survive; but is it too late for anyone to find her?

Ronald A. Kojis, an advertising executive, began his career in the “Mad Men” days at world famous Leo Burnett Company. After early retirement, his exasperated wife suggested he get off his butt and do something useful. He tried teaching at a dysfunctional Los Angeles inner city middle school and fourteen years later, he finally retired happy.