William Bell (1) (1945–)

Working in a bookstore definitely has its advantages. I often discover new and interesting books in unexpected ways.

I'd never heard of this novel, despite it being around forever, however working at the bookstore, I guess someone either brought it up to cash and decided not to buy it, or returned it, one of the two. Either way, that's how I found myself holding the novel, seeing that it belonged in the teen section, but of course, on the way, I read the back.

The book never made it back to the shelf. It will live out its days on my home bookshelves instead.

For a YA—and rather bloodless—horror novel, I found this one was quite enjoyable.

It's got a lot going for it, from solid writing, interesting characters, an interesting setting (that I know fairly well), and a heartwarming, if somewhat predictable plot.

What Bell does best is bring the reader back to those summers of our youth, before we necessarily had to have a summer job, so we had a solid three months to do whatever we wanted. He captures all of it, and he does it well.

This novel, to me very much reminded me of Tim McGregor's WASPS IN THE ICE CREAM in tone and feel and nostalgia.

Pleasantly surprised by this one.… (altro)