patte burgoon

Ah! Summers at the amusement park ... Crowds of well starched, post war tourists, on the verge of the plentiful 1950's. Were you the one-day tourist child, all agog, thrilled by the rides, curious about the carnies? Were you the local teen, earning your first money, working at the snow ball stand? Did you hear summer adventure stories from your folks? Or from your long gone grandmother? Does the scent of cotton candy take you back?

Then treat yourself to this coming-of-age novel -- for a day's delightful read -- and for weeks of mixed emotions. Share the complex summer of 1949 with 14 year old Paula Bradley - Gypsies and secrets, Colored day and Catholic confession, family life and awkward boys - and see what her story stirs up in you.

Set at Buckeye Lake, Ohio this novel captures those special moments of youth, caught between innocence and eagerness,in the American playgrounds of old, when life was simpler, -- or was it?