The Boys of Summer

"West writes about childhood - all the politics, secret joys, terrors, and anxieties - so thoughtfully that by the time you realize that this is not your childhood it's impossible not to relate. The story is reminiscent of The River's Edge and early Stephen King, but with a voice that is uniquely West's own. It is lush and beautiful and heartbreaking."- Amazon.comIt's 1989 in Limerick, Ireland, and eleven year old Richie South's summer is shattered by a terrible crime which happens within a few feet of his home. When little Tommy Kelly is murdered in the local quarry, Richie and his friends decide that they are going to bring the killer to justice. Richie grows up fast, experiencing grief, horror and even love, in the space of a few sweltering hot days. Friendships crumble, families are destroyed, and a romance blossoms from the unlikeliest of sources. From the first page until the last, we are inside Richie's thoughts: Living every second of his terror; knowing every minute of his joy; feeling what it is to be a child again.