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Pros: Bradbury's writing is so beautifully lyrical/He has the ability to make something as simple as playing hide and seek on a summers night a truly nforgettable experience/Though a standlone novel in its way, it's also peppered with some of Bradbury's memorable short stories, like Old-Fashioned Lime-Vanilla Ice, The Sound of Summer Running, and The Lonely One.
Cons: Though I'm sure it's a generational thing, some of the dialogue between the characters, "gosh, gee golly whiz", was a bit “Leave it to Beaver” at times.
Full Review:
It's the Summer of 1928 and Douglas Spaulding is 13 years old and realizes, with amazement that he is alive!. He feels it in everything. He sees it, smells it, hears it. He's alive as only the young and innocent can be. And he decides that with the help of his brother Tom, they're going to remember this Summer. He'll write it all down, so they'll never forget and he begins with the "Rites and Ceremonies" the things that happen every year. Harvesting the first bottle of Dandelion Wine with his Grandfather, that first game of Statues with his friends and the long, warm nights, resting on the porch, content to listen to the evening sounds pass by on a gentle wind.
This isn't just a story about a boy's summer vacation though, it's so much more than that. Through the Spaudling boys eyes, we see their stomping grounds of Green Town, Illinois and we learn of the many people and places that make it special. The Ravine, the Trolley, Colonel Freeleigh, Mr. Auffman, old Ms. Loomis. Everyone and everything help teach Douglas and Tom about life. They learn of love, loss, friendship, acceptance, change and the inevitablity of death. And it's all told in Bradbury's effortless, elegant way.
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