Gemini Summer by Iain Lawrence

Gemini SummerThe Rivers are your typical 1960’s family. Mom is a housewife who dreams of being a writer, little brother Danny desperately dreams of getting a dog, older brother Beau is obsessed with the NASA space program, which currently features the Gemini space capsules piloted by astronaut Gus Grissom, and Dad is building a fallout shelter in the backyard. Typical. Ordinary, even. But what is not so ordinary is how Danny reacts after Beau is in a terrible accident. After the accident, Danny’s parents finally let him have a dog. The dog, Rocket, becomes Danny’s best friend and shadow. But when Rocket savagely attacks a neighborhood bully, the authorities come to put him down. Danny knows he has to save his dog no matter what, his dog who loves model airplanes and seems to watch the television every time Gus Grissom is on. Because Danny knows, even though no one else believes him, that Rocket is really the reincarnation of his dead brother Beau. Haunting, beautifully written and sweetly nostalgic, Gemini Summer is reminiscent of “Stand By Me” or “The Outsiders,” and will transport you back to a time when we were still in awe of all the things we didn’t know and couldn’t always explain.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *