Tim Ranney

Summers End Tim Ranney

A modern-day Stand by Me, this coming of age story is set in 1969 against the backdrop of the moon landing and Woodstock. Grant is finishing his freshman year of high school in small town, Connecticut. While summer vacation looms large and enticing, his best friend, David, is about to drag him into all sorts of predicaments. David is determined to date Lisa, whose parents will only allow her to double date in public. He talks Grant into chaperoning, along with Lisa's best friend, Rebecca, who is one of the most popular girls in school. As school draws to a close, David volunteers Grant for a tournament and a class bully mistakes Grant for someone else. On his paper route, the shy and mysterious daughter of a farmer is always hiding in wait. The boys get summer jobs to afford dating, and while David and Lisa get amorous and "run the bases," Grant falls for Rebecca who has a few secrets of her own. He also develops a crush on a customer who's married to an abusive husband, the town's former star basketball player who Grant angers during a game of one-on-one. This charming story of a simpler time is about friendship, loyalty, falling in love, figuring things out, caring for others, and learning that things don't always turn out the way you want. In other words: growing up. If you didn't have a friend like David in your formative years, you were probably him...