Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable, but difficult to explain
Review: It's the summer of 1928 in a small town in Illinois and Douglas Spaulding is 12 years old. And for the first time in his life he realizes that he is alive, truly alive. He begins keeping a list of all the "firsts" of the summer - first new pair of sneakers, first batch of dandelion wine bottled for the winter months, putting up the porch swing, etc. But with this new awarness of being alive comes the realization that he also will one day die.This is a difficult book to explain. The writing style is incredible, almost poetic in some ways, and capable of creating powerful visual images and feelings. The beginning, especially when Douglas becomes aware of everything around him, is very moving. But towards the end, when he begins to recognize his own mortality, it gets a bit dark. The chapters are often very disconnected, as if they're snapshots instead of continuations of the story, and that adds to the sometimes dream-like quality of the writing. This is a very enjoyable book, one that really causes you to think and perhaps even re-consider priorities. It's just a difficult book to summarize and explain.
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