New Book Recommendation

[Steve]

Recently I was at one of the rural brand name discount
outlet malls and the book store was going out of business.
$2.00 each for all hardback and $1.00 for all soft cover
books. So, I wandered around and found half a dozen books
which I have been reading.

One of them was a real gem.

"Last Days of Summer" 
by Steve Kluger
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Days-Summer-Steve-Kluger/dp/0380797631

The book has a solid Five Star rating at Amazon, and is 
at once heartwarming and heartbreaking. 

It is a coming of age story for 12 year old Joey Margolis
who is living in a tough Italian neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The format is a little unusual in that most of the story
is told in letters, news clippings, send between Joey and 
his hero Charlie Banks, third basemen for the New York 
Giants.

Don't let the format throw you off. You will laugh and you
will cry at the antics of the characters, and I do mean
/characters/.

Here is an excerpt from the Harper's Pub. website -

"Laugh-out-loud funny."—Library Journal

"In this poignant and funny coming-of-age novel, Steve 
Kluger uses letters, newspaper clippings, war bulletins, 
and report cards to tell the delightfully quirky story of 
12-year-old Joey Margolis. Growing up Jewish in a tough 
Brooklyn neighborhood, Joey is troubled by anti-Semitic 
neighbors, by Hitler's rising power, by his parents' divorce,
and by his absent cad of a father. Joey is "a real pip," 
sending memos to Franklin D. Roosevelt advising on foreign 
policy and "Top Secret" missives to The Green Hornet, a.k.a.
his best friend, Craig Nakamura. Joey's letter-writing leads
to an unlikely friendship with his sports hero, New York 
Giants rookie third baseman Charlie Banks."

This books is earthy enough to be appreciated by guys,
romantic enough to be appreciated by girls, and despite
some course language sweet and funny enough to be 
appreciated by younger readers.

For a quick sample of the letters that young Joey and
Charlie exchange, check out the Harper's website here-

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780380797639/Last_Days_of_Summer/index.aspx

I heartily recommend that you check it out. 

Steve/bboyminn