Last Summer Boys
- Downloads：6285
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-04 08:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Bill Rivers
- ISBN：B09KXD3SXY
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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 you’re famous， you don’t 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 don’t go to war， he’ll make his brother their small town’s biggest celebrity。 Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer。 Together， they convince Jack’s brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters ago—the perfect adventure to make Pete a hero。
But with a greedy developer determined to flood their valley， a beautiful girl occupying his middle brother’s attentions， a wild motorcycle gang causing trouble in town， and a disturbed neighbor setting fires， Jack realizes it isn’t 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。
“If you’re famous， you don’t 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 don’t go to war， he’ll make his brother their small town’s biggest celebrity。 Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer。 Together， they convince Jack’s brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters ago—the perfect adventure to make Pete a hero。
But with a greedy developer determined to flood their valley， a beautiful girl occupying his middle brother’s attentions， a wild motorcycle gang causing trouble in town， and a disturbed neighbor setting fires， Jack realizes it isn’t 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。
Reviews
Linda Galella
，
Life affirming debut novel that celebrates family， friendship and a fierce desire to fix things。John Thomas， “Jack”， his brothers Pete & Will along with cousin Frankie， are in for a grand summer of adventure。 They’re going on a mission to find a ditched WW2 fighter jet。 Jack has ulterior motives - saving oldest brother， Pete， from being drafted to Viet Nam by making him famous with this discovery。Jack is the narrator giving the story an idealistic point of view。 The backdrop is 1968 including al Life affirming debut novel that celebrates family， friendship and a fierce desire to fix things。John Thomas， “Jack”， his brothers Pete & Will along with cousin Frankie， are in for a grand summer of adventure。 They’re going on a mission to find a ditched WW2 fighter jet。 Jack has ulterior motives - saving oldest brother， Pete， from being drafted to Viet Nam by making him famous with this discovery。Jack is the narrator giving the story an idealistic point of view。 The backdrop is 1968 including all the tumultuous history but the setting is rural and the family has problems of their own that over shadow the national and political， save the war calling Pete to serve。 There are a few political comments but not contemporary flares。 They are historically appropriate for the story being told。A thread of faith weaves thru the story as a natural course of daily life。 This is very much a story of bygone days before cellphones， tablets， social media and laptops。 Neighbors worked together， played together and prayed together; kids played outside， did chores and were respectful while seeking adventure and mischief。 Author， Bill Rivers， has done a beautiful job of weaving these mores together。“Last Summer Boys” is charming， encouraging and uplifting; Andy Griffith & Tom Sawyer fans rejoice📚 。。。more
Marianne
，
A good read from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy as he lives one of the most eventful summers of his life。 Jack Elliot loves his family， which includes his two older brothers: Pete， nearly eighteen years old， and Will， obsessed with news about Robert Kennedy。 This is summer 1968; the USA is in the throes of the Vietnam War， Robert Kennedy is campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the upcoming presidential election， and Martin Luther King， Jr was shot just several months before the s A good read from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy as he lives one of the most eventful summers of his life。 Jack Elliot loves his family， which includes his two older brothers: Pete， nearly eighteen years old， and Will， obsessed with news about Robert Kennedy。 This is summer 1968; the USA is in the throes of the Vietnam War， Robert Kennedy is campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the upcoming presidential election， and Martin Luther King， Jr was shot just several months before the start of the novel。 King assassination riots continue in the city of Memphis， where the Elliot boys’ 13-year-old cousin， Frankie， lives。 Frankie’s parents sent him out to the country to live with his cousins， Aunt and Uncle in New Shiloh for the summer， to be safer。 The boys are having a great summer swimming in the nearby river and collecting fireflies but under it all is the fear of Pete being drafted into Vietnam once he turns 18 in a month。 In addition， some land developers want to take over the Elliot’s property， which dips in a valley， so they can flood it and build a lake and a dam。 Last Summer Boys is about a group of kids forced to grow up before they are ready。 I enjoyed reading from Jack’s point of view: his innocence， his naiveté， his fierce loyalty and love for his family。 Rivers story is engaging and there is a lot of action in the second half， which became a page-turner by then， but unfortunately， it does read for more of a high school audience。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Last Summer Boys
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Last Summer Boys&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Last Summer Boys&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0