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This debut novel follows the bucolic life of eleven-year-old Kate. The setting is a small village in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland in the 1970s. It begins on the last day of school for the summer, when Kate is a fifth grader. The story traces the daily travails of her life and the people, places, and events she encounters throughout the summer until September. The protagonist lives with her family: her grandmother, Jammy; her father, Edison; her mother, Mary; her brother, Johnny, who is older than Kate; and Cousin Lowell, who is there temporarily to get sober.
Kate has a lot of adventures with her friend Tansy as they ride around town on their bikes, rescuing a duckling, swimming in the river, celebrating the Fourth of July, and other adventures. But mostly, she begins to grow up and sees what it is to become a more mature girl, feeling grief, understanding the apparitions of her ancestors that roam the house and the houses of others, and figuring out the nuances of life as it presents itself to her in various ways.
Exquisitely written, with heartfelt details that draw the reader deep into the story, the book makes the reader want to visit the village in the 1970s and meet the various characters who make up the town. The story is the perfect read for a lazy summer day while lying in a chaise lounge chair or, better yet, on a cold winter day, when one can wrap one's mind around the warm summer story under a fluffy blanket and transport oneself to the peace and tranquility it reveals. The narrative is not flashy or designed to be overly exciting. Instead, it is a peaceful, reminiscing take on Americana.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
A 2026 Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist