Clearwater Summer Book

In the tradition of such coming-of-age novels as A Separate Peace and This Boy's Life, John E. Keegan's enchanting book tells the wonderfully observed story of a fourteen-year-old boy confronting the deadly adult realities of an idyllic small town in the Pacific Northwest. Will Bradford is the earnest narrator of Clearwater Summer. The summer of 1959, lazy and free of care, begins with the childhood pursuits of swimming and kick-the-can for Will and his friends Taylor Clark, a human joke book, who is beginning to notice girls, and Wellesley Baker, a spirited tomboy from the poor side of town. Wellesley's father is the town's stock-car racing hero, a figure at once menacing and mesmerizing. The gentle humor of first dates, hopping freights, and the County Fair provide a bright contrast for Will's and the town's loss of innocence. When Wellesley's father is killed, Will faces a decision that forces him to abandon his boyhood. As townspeople cling to their tradition at minding their own business, the ugliness behind the closed doors of the Baker house wears on. The secrets of the summer are finally unmasked in a climatic trial. In Clearwater Summer, John E. Keegan has written a novel that will touch readers and make them want to remember.

Publishers Weekly

Incest, rape and domestic violence lurk in the shadows of Clearwater, the idyllic little Pacific Northwest town that provides the setting for this terribly earnest first novel. During the quiet, carefree summer of 1959, 14-year-old narrator Will Bradford slowly loses his childhood innocence, acquiring an interest in pretty girls, muscle power and fast cars. His best friends are Taylor Clark, whose good looks and impressive physique draw the attention of female teenagers, and Wellesley Baker, an ultra-cool tough gal from the wrong side of the tracks whose stock-car driving father has a terrible temper. The three friends' summer fun--hopping freights, stalking rats at the town dump--is shattered when Wellesley is accused of murdering her father. In the tense courtroom drama that concludes the book, Clearwater's residents are confronted with ugly truths about the Baker family. Keegan's experience as a lawyer serves him well in the dramatic courtroom scenes, but his dialogue and plotting are clumsy and he offers no new insight into issues that have become all too familiar to readers in recent years. Still, this is a sincere and tender evocation of the passage from childhood to maturity. (Mar. )