Last Summer Boys: A Novel

In this rapturous coming-of-age debut, a naive-yet-determined Appalachian boy will go to any length to save his family over the course of one life-changing summer. If youre famous, you dont have to go to war. Summer 1968. When thirteen-year-old Jack Elliot overhears the barbershop men grousing, he devises a secret plan to keep his oldest brother, Pete, from the draft. If famous boys dont go to war, hell make his brother their small towns biggest celebrity. Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer. Together, they convince Jacks brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters agothe perfect adventure to make Pete a hero. But with a greedy developer determined to flood their valley, a beautiful girl occupying his middle brothers attentions, a wild motorcycle gang causing trouble in town, and a disturbed neighbor setting fires, Jack realizes it isnt just Pete who needs saving. Set during a single, tumultuous summer, this beautifully told tale is a heartwarming tribute to innocence, first love, and the unbreakable bond of brotherhood.