Cephalopod Coffeehouse Chat - Summer of '42

From the ArmChair Squid: 
“The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.”

Summer of '42 by Herman Raucher

Hermie is fifteen, too young to join in the war effort and too old to be counted a kid. He is one of a gang of three boys whose families take a vacation in the summer at Nantucket Island. They run with the sun and wind and dream of days when they are treated as adults.

This summer is the turning point for them. Girls, dating, and an experience that changes Hermie forever. 

Love and war touches him and the hurt from both feels nearly the same.

Summer of ’42 was the movie everyone wanted to see in 1971. I stood in a line to watch the film that stretched down the block and around the corner. 

Herman Raucher wrote the script for the movie first then wrote the book, definitely not the norm. It became a runaway best seller. Funny, realistic, it is a self-portrait of Mr. Raucher’s experience that summer, his coming-of-age. 

A few years ago, I found the book in the bargain section at a book fair. For a dollar, I got a pristine, hardback with a dust cover, a most excellent deal.

What I found so amazing about the author, was the simple, indirect words that he used when describing the sex scene. I don’t care for a play-by-play of intimate moments. I like it left to my imagination. This book is the epitome of how to convey the act without making it an instruction book on intercourse.

I didn't realize until I re-read the book for this post that I employ the same tactic when I describe physical love. 

Although I highly recommend this book, it isn't easy to find. Out of print and ignored, it lingers in places other than Amazon. I suggest the library, garage sales, and book fairs.