From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-The difficult and mysterious slide from childhood into adolescence is described in this unusual novel. The book is set in a rather rough-and-tumble, working-class neighborhood during the 1950s or early 1960s. Early in the summer, Larry and his friends concentrate on their innumerable ball games, breaking the sleep-out record, and conducting their elaborate and dangerous science experiments, which mostly entail blowing objects up or mangling them in some way. As the summer goes on, however, things change for the boys as their lives subtly shift and their interests begin to broaden. Larry stands up to a bully who has terrorized his younger brother and finds himself noticing girls for the first time. Readers see most of the changes through his first-person narration that is beautifully written, yet manages to seem like the genuine voice of a boy on the verge of becoming a young man. As compelling as this novel is, though, it is not for everyone. Some will find the story slow moving and uneventful. In some ways, it is more of a book about childhood for adults. Yet, many teens, especially those who appreciate great writing and who can take a distanced look at their own lives, will find Larry's account to be absorbing and to ring true in many ways.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, ILCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gr. 4-7. The author of several short-story collections for adults focuses his first novel for young readers on three best friends, who spend the summer after sixth grade playing endless varieties of baseball, exploring their small town, and trying to figure out the secrets of the universe. Witt, a genius with a violent father, leads the pack, followed by narrator Larry, and Rafferty, who is half-blind because he refuses to wear his glasses. Readers will see their own lives in the friends' improvised games of baseball, backyard sleep-overs, and experiments about everything from reincarnation to the speed of light, but the narrative tone may not resonate as widely. Although Larry uses the present tense, some kids may have trouble believing that his longing, contemplative voice is that of a 12-year-old on summer vacation; it sounds more like a
Wonder Years voiceover. Kids who can appreciate the understated, beautiful writing and the nostalgia, however, will enjoy the moving story of what Larry calls his "last" great summer.
John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
