Bill RiversRecensioni

Last summer 1968, before his brother heads to Vietnam

Well written novel. Great character development. A slow read, but very rewarding.

I am participating in the Kindle Summer Reading challenge and one of the options was to read one of their summer picks. I chose Last Summer Boys, partially because it was set in Pennsylvania. The story takes place in the summer of 1968 and revolves around the Elliott family that includes three brothers, Jack, the youngest, along with Pete and Will. They are joined by cousin Francis who is sent away from the city to escape the riots and fires.

Jack is determined to keep Pete, who turns 18 on the 4th of July, away from Vietnam by making him famous. He even has a plan for how to do it and enlists Francis's help. Things don't turn out the way he thinks and the book takes a surprising and dark turn that gives this coming-of-age novel a gripping twice.

Besides being an excellent story teller, Bill Rivers writes beautiful prose. I found myself highlighting descriptive passages that made me slow down and savor.

Last Summer Boys. Bill Rivers. 2022. This lovely little coming-of-age novel takes place the summer of 1968 when Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were killed. Cousin Francis (Frankie) is sent from the threatened violence of Memphis to the farm of his three cousins in Pennsylvania. Pete, the youngest, narrates the story as they encounter the local bike gang, ghosts, girls, and a conniving businessman; as Pete hatches a plan to keep his brother from having to go to Vietnam

A story of just what the title says....boys in summer but what a summer develops! Nicely written...you just keep reading, moving along through a surprising number of happenings that relate to the time and place. I completely agree with the first reviewer.

There was so much to like about this book especially hearkening back in time to a gentler, more family-oriented place. A time when boys could go into the woods to establish their own camping grounds, name it and remember it into adulthood. A time when country boys welcome their city cousin into their fold and teach him while testing him. A time when brothers look to protect each other and devise all sorts of plots and plans to accomplish it. 1968 - A time so many of us remember with mixed feelings.

Rivers hits so many memories squarely on the head and drives in each nail. He reminds us that “everybody matters” Good writing, good story - so glad Amazon offered it as a First Read and even happier that I chose it.