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Search - Last Days of Summer
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Last Days of Summer Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover
Book Description:
May 15, 1940
Charlie Banks
New York Giants
Polo Grounds, New York
Dear Mr. Banks:
I am a 12-year-old boy and I am dying from malaria. Please hit a home run for me because I don't think I will be around much longer.
Your friend,
Joey Margolis
Dear Kid:
Last week it was the plague. Now it's malaria. What do I look - stupid to you? Your lucky I don't send somebody over there to tap you on the conk. I am inclosing 1 last picture. Do not write to me again.
Chase. Banks
3d Base
Dear Charlie:
Nobody asked for your damn picture. I never even heard of you before. And you can forget about the home run too. The only reason I needed one was because the bullies who keep beating me up somehow thought you were my best friend and the homer was supposed to keep them from slugging me anymore. Thanks for nothing.
Can I go on a road trip with you?
Your arch enemy,
Joey Nargolis
Dear Joey:
"Somehow" they thought I was your best friend? Where did they hear that from? A Nazi spy? J. Herbert Hoover? Franklin Delano Biscuithead? And didn't I tell you not to write to me anymore? Go bug DiMaggio.
Charlie
P.S. And just because there's a spot open for a bat boy this summer doesn't mean your going to get it. Even if we ARE chips off the same block. May 15, 1940
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Top Member Book Reviews
Joanna C. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book became one of my truly unexpected favorites. I was initially hesitant about the narrative style (this book is told in the form of letters along with newspaper clipping and other miscellany from a young boy to his baseball hero) but after a few letters found that this was the perfect way to tell this story. It is a lovely book, funny and poignant at the same time.
It is essentially a coming of age story (notice the title)set in the 1940's that shows the main character Joey Margolis' relationship with an up and coming baseball star named Charlie Banks. As World War two approaches the United States, Joey remains on the home front while Charlie is shipped off to war. The story follows their initial (Reluctant on Charlie's part, enthusiastic and boyish on the part of Joey)contacts full of misspellings and tough talk and grows to encompass what becomes a brother-like dynamic.
Highly recommended! A very quick read that will linger long after the last page.
Marci S. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
One of the first books which I've truly enjoyed start-to-finish in a long time. This is the story of Joey, a precocious Brooklyn boy, told in letters, news clippings, memoes, etc. and Charlie Banks, 3rd base, New York Giants.
Although the ending was somewhat predictable, I laughed and I cried while reading this book. What a different world Brooklyn in the 1940s must have been - this book made me feel like I was there.
(
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I laughed and I cried. I fell in love with the characters and felt like I knew them personally. The summary for the book is misleading. You really don't need to know anything about baseball to genuinely enjoy the book. After I read "Almost Like Being in Love" by Steve Kluger (which I also highly recommend) I looked online to find anything he had written. I shied away from this one because I have zero interest in the game of baseball. This is not a narrative like you expect to see in most novels. You get to know the characters and the story is built around letters and notes sent back and forth. It works.
Cathy A. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fun, different, light. I enjoyed this one.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
Laugh out loud funny at the beginning of this stoy of a young man trying to coerce a baseball star to be his friend. Story develops through a series of hilarious letters. Anyone who has ever had a precocious child will find themselves in tears of laughter at the audacity of this kid. Countless references to baseball adds reality to the story. I liked this book well enough to order a second copy to send to my son. Because we can all use a good laugh.
Initially I saw this book at Borders and almost put it back. What a huge mistake that would have been!
This book will move you in a way you never see coming. I laughed out loud. I cried like a baby. And I totally recommend this book to everyone!
You do not have to be a baseball fan or know anything about baseball to enjoy this book. The characters are of their own ground and they will draw you in.
This book is a unique glance into a world of 12 year old boy who makes you see him and all of his wounds. It a story of how he manages to work his way into the life Charlie Banks, his hero, and trust me . . . he'll work his way into your heart in the process. You will not want to put this book down.
For me, in the end, this book represents what all good books should be . . . an experience of what blooms inside of us when we open the door the story's journey, of what we leave behind and of what we remember what we lost at the book's closure. And more importantly the feeling that I am better off having read the book in the first place.
So much more than I thought it would be! Very interesting style...written as letters sent back and forth. Great look at like in the 40's! I would definetly recommend this book.
Thoroughly good read! You're able to put yourself right into the thick of the action through the various letters, postcards and musings of Charlie.
This is a cute, creative book. It's not stellar writing, but it's definitely a good beach read.
A creative and touching story about tbe friendship between 12-year-old boy from Brooklyn and an all-star baseball player, this takes place during the late '30s and '40s and is told primarily through letters and newspaper clippings.
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