Last Days of Summer

by Steve Kluger
Category: "Fiction - General"
Pages:353
Year of Publication:1998
Date Added:12/09/2014
Date Read:09/14/2015
Notes:Joey Margolis is a precocious 12-year-old Jewish kid who lives in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn with his mom and aunt and gets picked on all the time. He pretends to be friends with Charlie Banks, rookie third baseman phenom for the New York Giants to make kids like him. He writes Charlie, asking for a home run. Charlie puts him off at first, but Joey persists and the two become friends via mail when Charlie finds out Joey's dad abandoned the family. Charlie takes Joey on a road trip as bat boy. He helps him with his bar mitzvuh. He meets his mom and school principal. Joey helps Charlie propose to his singer girlfriend Hazel and, when he wins an essay contest, takes him along to the White House to meet FDR and Eleanor. When WWII starts, Charlie gets drafted. The friendship and letters continue until Charlie is killed in the South Pacific, rescuing Stuke, his friend and teammate.
My Rating: 8

Reviews for Last Days of Summer

Review - Last Days of Summer

The same old story about a selfish adult helping a charming, disadvantaged kid deal with life and learning not to be selfish himself in the bargain. But the setting in 1941, the tie with baseball and the gimmick of telling the story through letters, notes, telegrams, etc. made for a quick, fun, moving read.

Reviewed by Roger on 2015-09-14 07:16:59

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