Secondhand Summer "A picaresque coming-of-age tale with an often appealing hero." Kirkus Review
Secondhand Summer begins in Ninilchik, a tiny Alaskan community where the Barger family fishes for salmon. The father's death forces a move from their homestead to an apartment in a poor section of Anchorage. The tale is about Sam, a twelve-year-old boy who loved the homestead fishing life he left behind. Like most kids his age, his physical abilities and his imagination exceed his judgment and knowledge. The story focuses on the boy’s adventuresome adjustments to the big city, the loss of his father, and becoming a teenager. An abandoned nightclub, which Sam and his friends take over as their "fort", absorbs Sam's attention, energy, and gives him chance to escape from an adult controlled world, but his time runs out when the teenagers take over and then the city steps in. By the end of the summer, Sam looses his club, one of his new friends, and his idealism, leaving him feeling quite alone as he enters seventh grade, wilder and wiser.
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What people are saying about Secondhand Summer
“I loved it; it was like an Alaskan Catcher in the Rye . . .”
“I’m Ready to read the next one you write!”
"I just finished it this morning because I couldn't put it down until I was done."
“Wonderful author, would like to see more of his stories.”
“This book would be great reading for any young person trying to understand life's changes, and also for any adult attempting to understand, and in some cases recall, what it is like to be a teenage boy in our society.”
I loved your book. It was so relatable, the characters were interesting and realistic, and I felt like I could see everything you were describing as if I was there in the scene. It was pretty much a perfect example of what I imagine you strived to teach all of us in middle school about writing. It was one of those books that made me feel stressed as I got near the end because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters. I could have used an extra 200 pages or so.
Walker’s first-person narrative is engaging and vivid as he describes Sam’s earnest progress toward discovering who he is. The author skillfully evokes the world of adolescent boys, full of gross-out jokes, territorial challenges, and a few true friends. Sam’s adventures are gripping, yet realistic, such as when he almost, but not quite, gets caught by the police while stealing comic books, and each escapade teaches him something about himself.
A picaresque coming-of-age tale with an often appealing hero. -- Kirkus Review
“I loved it; it was like an Alaskan Catcher in the Rye . . .”
“I’m Ready to read the next one you write!”
"I just finished it this morning because I couldn't put it down until I was done."
“Wonderful author, would like to see more of his stories.”
“This book would be great reading for any young person trying to understand life's changes, and also for any adult attempting to understand, and in some cases recall, what it is like to be a teenage boy in our society.”
I loved your book. It was so relatable, the characters were interesting and realistic, and I felt like I could see everything you were describing as if I was there in the scene. It was pretty much a perfect example of what I imagine you strived to teach all of us in middle school about writing. It was one of those books that made me feel stressed as I got near the end because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters. I could have used an extra 200 pages or so.
Walker’s first-person narrative is engaging and vivid as he describes Sam’s earnest progress toward discovering who he is. The author skillfully evokes the world of adolescent boys, full of gross-out jokes, territorial challenges, and a few true friends. Sam’s adventures are gripping, yet realistic, such as when he almost, but not quite, gets caught by the police while stealing comic books, and each escapade teaches him something about himself.
A picaresque coming-of-age tale with an often appealing hero. -- Kirkus Review