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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" is a breath of fresh air, February 5, 2005
This review is from: Summer at Sea Shell Harbor (Paperback)
As a member of the so called Generation X, I grew up in the frenetically paced era of video games, pagers, cell phones, quick cut action movies and hyperactive storytelling within a remote control world. Reading Richard W. Dunne's "Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" therefore was for me like unplugging from the matrix and stepping outside for a long summer's walk in the sun. To put it simply, "Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" is a breath of fresh air.
Dunne's story is a classic coming-of-age tale set in the late 1950's and revolves around two teenage boys as they set out to make the most of one promising summer out on eastern Long Island. Richie and Mickey surely would have been best friends had they grown up together and in fact they do a great job making up for lost time here, despite (or perhaps because of) their very different backgrounds. Although Richie is the kid from the city (in this case well-to-do Brooklyn,) it is Mickey the streetwise small-town local that takes his more sheltered friend under his wing, not only showing him the ropes around the idyllic village of Sea Shell Harbor but teaching him some valuable life lessons as well.
As with many coming-of age novels, there are some familiar themes here: friendship, lost innocence, the promise of young love and all the hopefulness that comes with being on the verge of taking on the world. It is these very themes that Dunne handles so deftly and which make "Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" such a refreshing read. As anyone who's ever been seventeen can attest, that time in one's life is teeming with emotion and Dunne's novel succeeds in stirring those emotions once again, without ever feeling heavy-handed or trivial. The pacing and length of the book feel right and the story keeps the reader wanting to know more...I had a hard time putting this book down.
In today's go-go world of give it to me now and show me everything, it's nice to find a book that takes you back to an easier time and leaves something to the imagination. Be careful when you read it however, you may just find yourself longing for a time and place that is seemingly no longer available. As the saying goes, "those were the days." "Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" by Richard W. Dunne is a wonderful book for all ages, whether you're Generation X, Y or anywhere from A to Z.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Happy Days Meets East of Eden, April 12, 2005
This review is from: Summer at Sea Shell Harbor (Paperback)
Summer at Sea Shell Harbor starts off with the salty beach summer breeze coming in through the screened-in front door, Mickey standing there with the groceries for Richie's family. Right away you know that Mickey and Richie are going to hit it off and have some fun. Like kids, they easily introduce each other and quickly become friends as Mickey offers to show Richie around town and introduce him to some other "locals."
At first the characters seem to have everything their way. Everything is so easy. The guys meet the girls. They go out. They have fun. It really did seem like Happy Days, the TV sitcom. I don't remember easily meeting girls on my first weekend out on vacation anywhere, let alone a whole cadre of ready-made friends. But, as you get to know the characters little by little, you are shown some cracks in the make up of Mickey and his fragile balance between what he shows to his friends and what's really going on at home and in his head.
Mickey is a strong character who is likeable and at the same time is his own worst enemy. Certain parts begin to show up in his taunting of some other teens in a neighboring community. He seems to have no fear of others, except the Police, who have already visited his life in other matters. The people he associates with are not always the examples of who we want our sons and daughters to hang out with. And there is where things go awry.
I found the book to be a fun, entertaining look at a 1950's escape to the beach and the path to growing up. I could see this as a teen movie. Remember James Dean in "East of Eden"? Hollywood should take a look. I think they will see the fun and the drama that could make a summer screen splash. Good fun.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"You don't have to be a New Yorker to enjoy this book...., September 18, 2005
This review is from: Summer at Sea Shell Harbor (Paperback)
You don't have to have grown up in New York or spent summers in the Hamptons to remember the experiences and feelings that come back so vividly reading "Summer in Sea Shell Harbor". Wherever your're from, growing up takes you on an emotional roller coaster that drags you on at around age 13 or 14 and drops you off sometime later, maybe 19 or 20, somewhat beat-up and bruised, but relieved to still be standing. Whatever else adolescence is, it is a time of intense feelings and fragile egos; friends are at the center of our lives; good times and bad times; trying to sort through it all and figure things out. Richard Dunne has done a great job nudging our memories, taking us along with these very real characters who are a lot like our friends growing up; and their predicaments are similar to ones we can recall. A great read on a universal theme and one that we don't really ever forget. A book for all ages! An excellent, enjoyable read.
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