The Summer Set [Kindle Edition]

The Summer Set is like the Hardy Boys meet evil native spirits--with baseball and shamans. It's set in a magical time when there were no cellphones or computers, and you could still buy an ice cream cone for 20 cents:1956.

Though the standard portrayal of the 1950s is as a time of innocence and prosperity, author Jay Province subtly acknowledges the menace of the Cold War and McCarthyism. In Williamsport, baseball is the big deal, and 14-year-old Chumbucket and his friend Mike are aiming for the Bantam League World Series--if the creepy Noqumiut don't steal their bodies first.

Because of their pyromaniacal tendencies, these two scamps would have plenty of scrapes without the mystical forces. Add in the two intriguing girls-- Karen, who has a totem seal named Udjuk and practices out-of-body flying, and Jo, who flies an airplane and does a scandalous mambo at the school talent show--and the four are slated to become lifelong friends, if they live through this summer.

Jay Province's attention to the detail of the era is like a trip through a time machine, and he's aware of the darker elements of the time. The teens hang out at the Atomic Shake. Mr. Miller has a new Bel Air with Powerglide transmission. Mike goes to the barbershop and gets a flattop with fenders. And what's with that kid from Roswell, New Mexico, who has a mean physics-defying ball? Yikes, there's even smoking--and it's not just the bad guys. So retro.

Okay, maybe the boys wouldn't be allowed in the girls' bedrooms in the `50s some of us remember, but it's all good clean sleuthing, with that angsty puberty stuff thrown in. These kids are feeling urges they don't understand, and not just from the soul stone.

From the first chapter, when we meet Karen flying over Williamsport, a mysterious woman who's trying to get in the closed FBI office and later is pulled by Mike from the river with a snake bite, it's clear this isn't your father's Hardy Boys.

Even the multiple baseball games are suspenseful and as the summer hurls toward the World Series, we breathlessly learn more about what the Noqumiut are up to and wonder whether Mike can pull off a new magic trick that involves burning someone alive, and hold our breath to the carnivalesque finale.

Province invokes a nostalgia of the `50s while integrating the popular supernatural element, mercifully not the well-trod vampires, witches, and zombies. His human characters, especially the boys, capture the erratic and hormonally charged behavior of adolescence.

Even though The Summer Set is geared toward a younger set, as an adult reader, I wanted to know more. What's going on with Karen's shaman grandfather and totem seal Udjuk? Did Mike get too much of a taste of the real stuff in magic? And why am I craving an Atomic shake?

Lisa Provence is a staff reporter for the Hook and is not related to Jay Province.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of action, from the beginning to the end, and I could not stop reading it. The characters were very lively and well-described. The plot was amazing, and appealing to males and females of all ages. I loved the setting, and felt connected to the characters in the ways they act and feel. This book was excellently written, and so vivid and exciting that my little brother was reading over my shoulder for the bulk of the book. I would recommend The Summer Set to all, both guys and girls of any age, even if you don't like reading. The book was so intriguing and I am waiting for Mr. Province to write more!

MY REVIEW IS BELOW - this is my son's review of the book (Spoiler Alert - he loved it!)

> This was the first book I ever read on an I pad. Reading it on an I pad was fine but now I am sad that I don't have a real book to put on my shelf. My brother and I have a shelf in our room for the best books and I want to put The Summer Set right next to Michael Vey and Eragon. To make it clear to you, that is the shelf above Harry Potter and The Hunger Games and four shelves above The Hardy Boys
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> Like most books this one was a little difficult for me at first. Where and when is this happening? Are these the good guys or bad guys? I always go through this but it is why I like books better than movies, its up to me to decide if the person I am reading about has an faint body odor or looks like my Uncle John. There were lots of things I understood but also knew I was missing something so I didn't really trust that I understood what I thought I knew.
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> After just a couple of chapters it was all fitting together but as I understood one thing three more things would come into my head and I just knew the answer to that question was on the next page. I ended up reading the book in two nights and got on trouble both nights for being up reading after midnight on a school night. But it was that good. Plus I have learned that mom is always asleep and I am just not going to get in that much trouble from dad for reading even if it is super late on a school night. I mean what could he do? I can hear him saying put down The Summer Set or I will poke your eyes out with my tentacles.
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> I kept writing this over and over because I didn't want to give away any of the good parts but I just gotta tell you that when the magic show starts you need to finish the book or you won't be able to sleep. Before that point you might be able to put it down but after that not gonna happen.
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> So just be prepared for these parts. When Jo is on the ferris wheel don't look over the edge. When the words Karen and chain are on the same page it's an attack you won't forget. When the New Youth are with Chumbucket don't expect it to be fishing time.
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> It was just a great book. I now understand it was in the past. So I wonder what is happening right now, tonight, tomorrow and on and on. Is the New Youth right under my nose? Is there a way to stop them?
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> What you need to know I am telling you now. You must buy this book before it is too late. We are certain there is a clue in the past that will protect us now and in the future. Read the book, help find the answer. Just remember when the time comes that my name is Not Important and the password is obvious.
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MY EARLIER POST
I would love to write something about this book but in full disclosure, I can't get my ipad back to read it.

My 13 year old son was the first to start the book two days ago. He was gone to a friends birthday overnight, was up to 5 am, spent the morning Scouting For Food with his Boy Scout Troop, then early afternoon was bowling, he came home and passed out at 4 pm, He woke from his nap at dinner time, did homework and didn't even pick up the book until 9:30. At 11 pm I awoke on the couch and passing is room noticed the glow of the Ipad through the door crack. I had to take the Ipad away and make him go to bed as he begged to read on. My 'It's a school night, now go to bed!' brought a response of "I know I should go to sleep but dad...It's Good!

He'll get on and let you know his thoughts himself but I am positive the opinion of the 7th grade boys is going to be a good one. He is already telling his friends about it. As of tonight he is 83% done but he will not get to finish tonight. My 11 year old and 14 year old girls both started the book in the last 24 hours and the oldest has the book in her bed right now and will not give it up to her brother. Even my high school Junior says he snuck in reading the first few chapters this afternoon and wants the Ipad back as soon as it's open so he can finish the book.

My kids are all avid readers but being different genders, ages and having very different interests in life, rarely if ever has a book gotten all of them so involved. Now I am just dying to read it myself to find out what has captured all of their attention so intensely.