Drawing from personal experience, as well as historical events of Portland, Drake weaves the story of a teen reaching adulthood in the summer of 1948 that is simultaneously nostalgic and honest. Chris and his friends read Real Clue and Detective Comics at the Mt Scott drugstore, hang out at the movies at a time when John Garfield was starring in "They Made Me A Criminal," and listen to "I Love A Mystery" on the radio.
Meanwhile, hints of the adult world intrude on Chris' idyll: the responsibility of a paper route, involvement in petty crimes with his friend Mal, and a plane crash on 92nd Street.
"One Summer" taps the feeling of being young, looking for adventure, and finding it in the most surprising places. This book is part of the Lents Collection of fiction by Albert Drake.
One Summer
122 pages, 8 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches, perfect-bound (July, 2011)
Stone Press; ISBN: 0-936892-24-2; $8.95
Also available as an e-book on Amazon.