J L Reichman

Summer of Fire J L Reichman

I so enjoyed the Summer of Fire. It is set in the early '50s, a gentler time for the country and for the state of Kansas. The story revolves around young Mike, who might remind the reader of Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird) or of Ralophie (A Christmas Story), but Mike has his own special voice and faces his own particular problems. His story is told with great warmth and charm by a gifted writer. Marilyn True In the summer of 1953, Valetti's Mill explodes rocking ten-year-old Mike Martin from his bed and beginning a summer filled with fire. Though the fires fascinate Mike, his real interest lies elsewhere. On the radio, he hears Sen. Joseph McCarthy's incendiary rhetoric against Communists. Mike has only a vague idea of what a Communist is, but he knows they are bad. When he learns a Communist lives in Glendale, he and his pal Pete spy on the miscreant, a local publisher, to help the FBI and be heroes. Their snooping antagonizes the town bully and his cohorts who terrorize the boys. After several frightening encounters, Mike and Pete realize the evil forces at work leading to arson and murder have nothing to do with Communism. Hatred, prejudice, bigotry and vengefulness lie beneath Glendale's peaceful facade.