First published 1999
Michael arrives at his family's secluded Atlantic island for another summer vacation in 1963. The fifteen-year-old expects the usual quiet days with his parents, but two captivating women arrive and transform everything. Michael finds himself caught in his first experience with romantic desire while watching his father become equally entranced. The peaceful rhythms of beach life give way to emotional turbulence as both father and son navigate competing attractions to the same women. Michael must confront not only his own awakening sexuality but also his father's mortality and human frailty. When tragedy strikes, the summer that began with lazy beach days ends with Michael forced into a new understanding of adult relationships and family bonds. Charles Simmons crafts this coming-of-age story as a modern adaptation of Turgenev's "First Love," exploring how desire can both connect and destroy the people we hold closest.
Genres: literary-fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, family-drama, first-love
Setting: Atlantic, Atlantic Island
Period: 1963
176 pages · Paperback · Gallery Books
Content warnings: death