During Billy Powell's summer camp experiences he discovers a world of unimagined adventures, friendships, romance, and a horrifying secret. In this dual novel, as a past war between campers and a poor farmer escalates to tragic proportions, Billy battles his own demons in the form of raging hormones, cruel peers and counselors, and a terrifying camp legend that alters the course of his life.
Excerpt
"The lead abductor jabbed the machete at each camper in an intimidating head count, then led us into the abyss, slashing at real and imagined forest undergrowth like a demonic safari guide. Treetops blocked the moonlight so effectively upon entering the jungle that we had to hold the shoulder of the person in front of us to keep from straying out of line. Descending the hill, essentially blind, the terrain I had once traversed in a panic was now foreign territory under my feet. The procession halted at some point, I estimated, close to the spring. We then continued, veering into the trees, I sensed, where I had once glimpsed a genuine phantom hovering in the shadows. Of all the places to explore at Aerie, this would have been my very last choice. Still, I had no option but to follow. The concept of breaking free and trying to find my way back to camp alone never entered my mind. We soon stumbled into a clearing, made visible by moonlight pouring in through a gap in the forest canopy. My eyes slowly adjusted, only to behold a dreadful sight. It could only be the ruins of Aerie's original pool. The large man-made oval contrasted appallingly with the dark earth surrounding its unearthly outline. Moonlight bounced off invisible water onto an ancient stone wall directly across from us, the reflections dancing a tragically slow waltz in time with the rhythm of serenading crickets. Dark stains and splotches of organic matter soiled the stone. It was as if we had traveled backward in time only to witness the decay of the future. In a state of pure awe, it occurred to me that this dismal scene had played out every night and day for the last 40 years." *** "I stopped asking needless questions and focused entirely on Alison. Soft kissing quickly escalated into frantic, primal kissing. Our hands explored familiar places, and urgently sought new territory. I knew we had surpassed our physical benchmark set in the teepee when Alison breathed and moaned in ways I'd not heard before from any human being. I became aware at some fuzzy point that she was no longer guiding my exploration of her body, instead allowing, then demanding me to find my own way. With each moan I expected her to stop me, to stop us, as we went further. She didn't stop us. I stopped us. In the midst of mauling each other, the small statue distracted me just enough to divert my full attention from Alison. Ninety-nine percent of me wanted to lose my virginity on that bench with the girl I knew I loved, if she was willing. The remaining one percent contained a potent antidote to my rampaging lust. For one, although it undeniably felt right, it did not feel like the right place. The candles, the reflecting pool, the virtuous statue – all created an aura that reminded me of pictures I'd seen of European cathedrals. Despite my absence of religious faith, I had a nagging sense of behaving...unholy...in the eyes of the mother and child."
Professional Reviews
Fantastic!
Loved this book! I loved the writing, the story, the way it was told.
This story is told in 2 alternate timelines. The first takes place in the mid-1930's when a retreat for rich boys is built by a man who wanted other boys to keep his son, Ethan, company. He buys up lots of land in the Catoctin area of Maryland from the existing farmers for this. Except there is one holdout, the Crosby family. This sparks a rage in Ethan, who tries to get the family to leave the land in a series of escalating attacks despite warnings that the family may be more than what they seem. In one extreme act, Ethan's actions give rise to consequences that echo thoughout the years of Camp Aerie.
This leads us to the other story taking place in the 1980's and it's main character, Billy Powell. You will follow Billy to when he first attends camp and through several years after, and will witness not only camp life through his eyes, but several incidences which baffle the campers and some call the Cropsy curse.
That's all I am going to say about it because I don't really want to give too much away. This book reminded me so much of the movie Stand By Me and the book, Boy's Life. The way the author vividly wrote about camp life just came alive for me. Some reviewers thought the book was too long, but I wasn't bored for one minute. The alternating timelines (it alternated in chapters) wasn't confusing in the least and I actually liked that it was set up that way. The two stories do end up coming together to a satisfying end.
Anyway, I am going to quit writing before I sound like I am babbling. I'm not very good at this, but I wanted to give kudos to this author. He should keep writing.
Highly recommended!
I LOVED IT.
It's rare that I will take the time to write a review after reading a book. I've done it maybe a handful of times, and it's only been for books that truly moved me. I ordered this e-book free through ohfb.com and was really only expecting a scary retelling of the legend of Cropsy, and also expecting loads of grammar mistakes, as is often found in free ebooks. I was pleasantly mistaken. This story is rich, beautiful, poignant, thoughtful, exciting, frightening, and probably 10 other positive adjectives. I simply loved the background being set in the decade I did my growing up, the 1980's. Then it switches back to the beginnings of the campground and the history it shared with the Crosby's...the unfortunate backhill neighbors that were guilty of nothing but minding their own business, yet happened to live on land that the greedy owners of the campground coveted and ultimately killed for. It was mesmerizing and I'm keeping it on my e-reader so I can revisit it again in the future.
WOW! Excellent storytelling, very fulfilling read. Left me wanting much, much more!
LOVED this book! I loved the characters and I am looking forward to reading others by this author. I was transported into this story because of how the author developed his characters and described the environments. Picturing the camp and surrounding area was so easy to do with his wonderful narrative and colorful descriptions. I found myself hating, sympathizing, scared, mourning, excited and terrified with and of the main and supporting cast. Mr. Veroux was able to do the different time periods well, with seamlessness. An author who can pull that off, is an artist at their craft. So many times that is done with a sort of clumsiness that will leave me leafing back to figure out which time period I am in, but not in this book. He was clear and carried through wonderfully.
I highly recommend and again, can't wait for more of Mr. Veroux's works. Thank you, sir!!
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