Alienation of Dont'e Izzo
GENRE
BIOGRAPHICAL YOUNG ADULT CHILDREN'S MEMOIR HORROR FAMILY OTHER
Core Theme
ALIENATION, PAIN OF LOSING A CHILD
TIME PERIOD
Future,2000s
COMPARABLE TITLES
13 REASONS WHY
CHARACTER LIST
DONT'E IZZO: 15. LEAD. KIND AND ACCEPTING.
DON IZZO: 50S. DONT'E'S FATHER.
KELLY GALLAGER IZZO: 50S. DONT'E'S MOTHER.
PB: 15. DONT'E'S FRENEMY.
GH: DONT'E'S CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND.
BW: 50S. THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT.
Logline
Dont’e Izzo was a universal spirit.Students posted racist, xenophobic memes and hate speech. Over time, a group of students encouraged Dont’e to resort to self-induced annihilation uncovering the criminal conspiracy to bully and alienate him.
Target Audiences
Age: 13-17,18-34,35-54,55+,7-12
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Bangor,Maine
Based on a True Story
Yes
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: amazon
Year Published: 2020
Starting Description
Dont’e Izzo was a universal spirit who engaged in JROTC, ran cross country, played football and lacrosse. He had an infectious smile, love of humanity and all living things.He never failed to say the Pledge of Allegiance and was astonished when some of his peers and teachers did not do the same.
Ending Description
Hope to quell the apathy, indifference, and grossly negligent conduct that turned their son against himself and led him into an abyss of confusion and despair.
Group Specific
Police & Bangor High School
Hard Copy Available
No
ISBN
Information not completed
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Plot - Other Elements
Meaningful Message,Other
Plot - Premise
Tragedy
Main Character Details
Name: Dont’e Izzo
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Obedient,Patriotic,Desperate,Engaging,Faithful,Visionary,Underdog,Naive,Honorable,Educated,Gracious,Flexible
Additional Character Details
Name: Don Izzo
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Underdog,Aggressive,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Empathetic,Engaging,Educated,Patriotic,Outspoken,Visionary
Additional Character Details
Name: Kelly Gallagher/Izzo
Age: 57
Gender: Female
Role: emotional
Key Traits: Underdog,Aspiring,Charming,Empathetic,Engaging,Selfless,Flexible,Skillful,Gracious,Educated,Sophisticated
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Development Pitch
I haver enumerated 500.00 dollars for this service.
Genre
DRAMA
Brief
A boy fell in with a group of white supremacists that fetishized suicide and killed himself. His parents went on a crusade to try and find out why he did it. They found messages on his phone telling him to kill himself and went to the authorities - but nothing happened.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: FAIR
Characterization: FAIR
Commerciality: FAIR
Franchise Potential: FAIR
Pace: FAIR
Premise: FAIR
Structure: FAIR
Theme: FAIR
Accuracy of Book Profile
The book profile accurately reflects the content.
Draw of Story
It's an interesting concept--bereaved parents trying to process why their son killed himself.
Possible Drawbacks
The entire novel felt exploitative of a depressed young man. The parents essentially harassed other high schoolers to try and find any reason to blame other than themselves for why this kid killed himself, going so far as to show up at the houses of teenagers. There were passages told solely about Dont'e's childhood that had nothing to do with the story--it's very clear that this was a mental health process to write this for the parents, but it feels unfair to the deceased teenager. No one wants to be remembered as a helpless victim like they've portrayed.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
Two bereaved parents crusade to discover why their son killed himself.
Fanbase Potential
Absolutely not. There is no formed story here--the interesting story, about a chain reaction of suicides, is barely told. Instead, most of the focus is on how good of parents the authors were. Very little is even said about the kid himself.
Awards Potential
As it is, no.
Envisioned Budget
LOW BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
13 REASONS WHY
What’s New About the Story
There is no real plot--this story would be more unique if they added a plot or focused on their own grief and possible shortsightedness.
Lead Characters
The parents seem hellbent on proving that they were perfect parents and have no culpability in their son's death--it would have been more interesting if they learned to accept their son's death in the end and overcame their grief and rage.
Uniqueness of Story
This is not a rare gem. As it is, this is barely a story. The parents need to question why they're writing this and if their desire for revenge on teenagers is masking their own unhandled grief. This is not an attack on the authors - their pain is justified, but the outcome of the book feels off.
Possible Formats
Film - Streaming, Unscripted
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
There is no story here. This feels exploitative. My heart goes out to this family, but maybe they need therapy, not a book deal.
Tips for Improvement
There would need to be a plot. While I’m empathetic to their pain, the parents can't spend every other chapter talking about how none of this was their fault and they couldn't possibly have seen it coming--there is a lot in the novel that points to the possibility that Dont'e was a depressed kid, and instead the parents seem hellbent on saying that he was perfectly happy and was tricked into killing himself by an Instagram message.
Brief
A boy named Dont'e Izzo became friends with a group of white supremacists online. The white supremacists encouraged Dont'e to kill himself. Once he did, his father went on a crusade to discover how his son lost his life.
What We Liked
This is a true, heartbreaking tale of a boy swallowed up by a suicide cult.
Film: As a film, this would be a biopic of Dont'e's life with Don's crusade as a highlight.
TV: As a television show, this would be a dark serial following Dont'e's father's crusade searching for justice and reason.
Key points: True story; Horror; Timely; Heartbreaking; Ongoing ending
Synopsis
Dont'e Izzo was a sweet boy who accepted everyone and welcomed all. Unfortunately, he fell in with a group very unlike himself--through his childhood best friend, GH, he met PB, a white supremacist with a suicide fetish. Dont'e's parents moved him from Maine to Florida, where they were happy for a while, but Dont'e wanted to move back to Maine, where his friends were.
Dont'e reconnected online with PB. PB told Dont'e to kill himself and convinced him that suicide was his best and only option. Dont'e killed himself and his mother found the body. He left a note telling his parents that he loved them. Dont'e's father, Don, was confused and went on a crusade to discover why his sweet son had killed himself.
The school disobeyed all the guidelines and reported the suicide over the PA loudspeaker, and soon, four other students at the school committed suicide. Dont'e's parents unlocked his phone and searched through his apps--on Instagram, they found messages from PB telling Dont'e to kill himself and how to do it.
Dont'e's parents tried to reach out to the school superintendent, BW, but BW deflected all blame and refused to investigate the matter any further. Dont'e's parents hope that they can discover more of what happened to their son and prevent other parents from experiencing a similar loss.