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Nov 09, 2007

Laura rated it:

I just stumbled on this in the library, and saw it's in a unique form (letters and such), which I'm loving lately. I just learned this is called an "epistolary novel" and stealing from a review below, I know why I am so drawn to this format. "...are hard to pull off. By ditching conventional plot structure, the writer focuses all the attention on his characters." As I've said before, I'll pick good characters over a good plot if I have to choose. So I guess when the focus More...

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Dec 12, 2007

Lady Ozma rated it:

The Last Days fo Summer by Steve Kluger is not the sort of book I would normally pick up and buy to read. You can probably fill my knowledge of baseball on the page under the title. However, a good friend recommended this to me and even went as far as to get me a copy.

I could not put the book down. It was excellent and captured my mind and my heart as I followed through roughly two years in the characters lives.

Seldom do characters come so alive as they do in this book More...

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Apr 20, 2010

Tory rated it:

Oh man.

I laughed, a lot. Then at the end I cried. Seriously. A lot of books SAY that they’ll make you laugh and cry, but the books that have made me laugh out loud I could count on one hand… and I can only think of one other book that made me cry. The Catalpa Tree by Denyse Devlin (incredible book, by the way).

It's an epistolary novel, written through letters, telegrams, transcripts of sessions with his therapist, newspaper articles, etc. A story of a Jewish kid in Brook More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Peggy rated it:

Epistolary novels are hard to pull off. By ditching conventional plot structure, the writer focuses all the attention on his characters. If the writer doesn't get the voices just right, readers lose interest in the story being told.

Luckily, Kluger is dead solid perfect in The Last Days of Summer. Whether we're hearing precocious 12 year-old Joey Margolis or irascible New York Giants third baseman Charlie Banks or even any of the myriad other voices we're a party to, it just sounds ri More...

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Jul 01, 2008

Octo rated it:

I have no idea how I stumbled across this book, but it turned up in my library reserve somehow so I figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out it's written entirely in letters. Yes, yes, I know all books are written with letters - 'badabadabada biiiing.' But seriously, this book is written using letters (correspondence) between the various characters. The format makes for a quick and interesting read.

Jewish boy in Brooklyn writes letters. Befriends baseball star. Baseball star ships More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Trin rated it:

An epistolary novel about a 12-year-old Jewish kid from Brooklyn who becomes best friends with a star baseball player in the early 1940s. This is utter pap, but…well, okay, I’m embarrassed to admit that I quite liked it. Joey is one of those impossibly clever and erudite 12-year-olds, and the premise is ridiculous—not just the becoming-best-friends-with-a-ballplayer part, but the fact that Joey and Charlie, the New York Giants’ 3rd baseman, also go on to meet President Roosevelt, Humphrey Bogart More...

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Feb 07, 2009

Gwen rated it:

I was introduced to this book when I was working in a bookstore, and the author came in to purchase his own ouevre. He was giddy and excited, and honestly presented to me the kind of electricity of an author who adored the written word and was floored that he was getting paid to use it. I figured I might as well buy a copy and have him sign it.

Moments after I rang up my own sale, my coworker saw what I was doing and said, "hey, that's a really wonderful book."

More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2011

Isamar rated it:

I really liked this book it made me laugh out loud at times.
"Not Ethiopia where zebras eat antelope legs and never dance." And what he said after
The end really did me in, for a while i kept putting the book off trying to save myself from what was coming. It didn't work because I needed so badly to finish it. I've only read two books from Steve Kluger but i'm looking forward to finding more of his books.

Charlie Banks
New York Giants
Polo Grounds,NY
Dea More...

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Sep 29, 2011

Aidashs12 rated it:

This book was one of my all-time favorites. It starts out with young Joey Margolis, a boy who lives in early '40's Brooklyn. He starts writing letters to his much-needed hero: Charlie, after searching for for his address for a long time. What started out as an annoying 10-year-old sending fan-mail turned into an unbreakable bond between two "brothers" who have never met. Charlie starts to think of Joey as his son, his protectiveness is so strong. When Charlie goes away for to fight in More...

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Jul 20, 2011

Karen rated it:

I love a good book sale. I love to chat with other readers and find gems among the fodder at the suggestion of strangers. That's how I found Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. I would never have chosen this book--sports stories usually aren't my thing--but I was standing in line waiting to pay for my two-foot stack at the library's $1 book sale this spring when the woman wearing purple scrubs in front of me picked it up from a table, asked me if I'd read it, and told me it was one of her fav More...

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May 09, 2011

Sarah rated it:

By sheer chance, I picked this book up in my school library -- and couldn't put it down. I think I read at least two hundred pages before I told myself I had to go do other things. I finished it the next morning.
I've been in a dry spell of reading lately, either because I haven't found the right books or I've just had trouble concentrating. But Last Days of Summer reeled me right in. It's not normally a subject I'd be interested in: I tend to avoid anything to do with sports, and don't More...

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Apr 06, 2011

Lesleyw rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 21, 2011

Carrie rated it:

The first Steve Kluger I read, and still my favorite. He uses the same epistolary/scrapbook style as My Most Excellent Year.

Joey Margolis is the only Jewish kid and Giants fan in his Brooklyn neighborhood. With an absent father and working mother, Joey has a lot of free time to devote to letter writing. He frequently corresponds with President Roosevelt’s press secretary about the escalating situation in Europe. “Joey, Holland is of no practical use to the Germans and is therefor More...

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Feb 27, 2010

Terri rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jun 07, 2009

Karla rated it:

Rachel and I took turns reading this book out loud as we drove across NY a few summers ago. It made the trip go quickly and we laughed so hard that I am amazed we stayed on the road!

This story is about Joey Margolis, a Jewish boy who is growing up in a "tough" Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn during WWII era. Joey loves baseball and he fixates on Charlie Banks - a player for the NY Giants - to write to. The entire book is a series of letters between the boy and the man - More...

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Jan 31, 2009

Michael rated it:

I just read this book for the second time, and I enjoyed it just as much as I remembered (partly because it's a great book, and partly because my memory stinks). It is the story of a smart aleck Jewish 12-year-old named Joey who lives with his mother and aunt in Brooklyn in the early 1940's (but hates the Brooklyn Dodgers). We understand that this kid is special from the get-go, when we see he's getting letters written back to him from President Roosevelt's press secretary. Joey's father has More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Cecelia rated it:

This is the first real stand out I have read this year and it has moved straight into my top five books of all time. I laughed, I cried . . . Really, I laughed out loud so many times!

Joey is a smart-alec Jewish kid living in the Italian part of Brooklyn in the early 40s. His dad divorced his mom for a younger model and won't take Joey's phone calls. Charlie is a major league rookie to whom Joey starts writing in an attempt to get Charley to hit a home run dedicated to him so that th More...

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Aug 12, 2010

Sue T rated it:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really did like the story line; it is a good coming-of-age story involved a boy with an absent father and a young baseball star around the time of WWII. The baseball star has had a tough life, too. The content is delivered as a series of letters, news-clippings, notes passed between kids in class, etc. It weaves in things about politics, the war, and the baseball rivalries of the time. As much as I wanted to love it, I just didn't like the voices of the c More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Hannah rated it:

Just hilarious. This is the first book I've read in awhile (far too long, really) that had me continuously cracking up. It made a plane ride go by in the blink of an eye -- what more can you ask for?

Toward the middle of the novel, I did find the character interactions a trifle precious, but overall, this collection of letters, newspaper articles (some tongue-in-cheek), photos, school communiques and report cards offers a very funny, very touching window onto the life of scr More...

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Jul 26, 2009

Lisa rated it:

Awesome book! Raw, funny, and a really unique format...a truly enjoyable read! The story takes place between 1940- 1942. Joey is a twelve year old Jewish boy growing up in Brooklyn.His dad is out of the picture so Joey has no one to guide him through life's trials other than his friend Craig, a 12 year old boy of Japanese decent. This is no sappy comin-of-age story, however. Joey speaks his mind, especially when writng letters to FDR and NY Giant 3rd baseman, Charlie Banks. Joey is one of a kin More...

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Oct 12, 2008

Christina rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I picked up it almost by accident from my library; so I was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed it so much. I laughed, a lot. I cried, a lot. I highly recommend this book to... everyone.

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Mar 06, 2010

onedirectionforever rated it:

This book was a risk for me. I read "The Book Thief" and loved it. It was a World War II book. And when I saw this book in the library, I thought I should give it a try. I've always loved the 40's era. And reading this just fasinated me more about that time period. In the end... I cried A LOT. I couldn't stop crying. I became so attatched to the characters. This book has so much emoitions in it. Good and Bad. Funny and Sad. Trouble and Adventures. Love and Hate. Family and Friends. It' More...

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Nov 27, 2008

Jared rated it:

This is the story of a Jewish kid growing up in Brooklyn around the time of the second world war. Joey has a unique way of looking at the world, and is entirely unafraid of communicating with anybody, regardless of who or what they are. For example, he corresponds with FDR (infrequently) and FDR's press secretary (often). He pesters a famous baseball player, Charlie Banks, until he responds. The book is the story of their friendship and how Charlie changes from a temperamental baseball playe More...

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Sep 01, 2007

Dawn rated it:

This is a fabulous read. Great story of coming of age told via letters, telegrams and postcards between a pisser of a young Jewish boy growing up in Brooklyn and a professional baseball player.

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Apr 28, 2009

Marnie rated it:

This is one of my most favorite books of all time. The characters are loving and clever and have a bond that I long for at times when friends and family seem especially far away.

My mom has given this book to family members and friends who mean a lot to us. It seems to be a symbol of that quality of person who, at heart, is kind and will stand by you and be your friend. We've all fallen in love with the characters. It is very easy to do.

Readers note, the first 20 pag More...

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Sep 23, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

One of the funniest, cutest, most touching stories about a little boy and his hero I've ever read. It's a very quick read and will especially appeal to moms with sons and dads, too.

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Mar 29, 2009

David rated it:

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger is a gripping piece of art about a Jewish boy, Joseph Margolis, growing up in the 1940's who desperately needs a father figure. With his biological father avoiding anything to do with him, he searches for a role model anywhere he can find, including Charles Banks a world-class baseball player for the Giants. The book follows the story of Joey, Banks, and others through letters, newspaper articles, 'Top Secret' notes, Christmas cards, Hanuka cards, etc. between More...

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Feb 05, 2011

Beth rated it:

Yes, the premise is a bit outrageous and the characterizations are a bit fantastic, but Last Days of Summer is an incredible, irreverent, touchingly human read. It's oh-so-subtly about family and friendship and communication and the different types of love while simultaneously being a hugely entertaining, approachable story. The epistolary format, the ricocheting plot, and the inevitable conclusion are deftly, cleverly handled. Somehow, amid wild hilarity and mild crudeness, this is one of those More...

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Jan 16, 2011

Patrick rated it:

Left me without words, filled with the need to tell everyone

I read this after My Most Excellent Year but it exceeded my expectation of it being a little less well-developed (since it's one of his first books, if not the first). Wonderful, dangerously funny, and enviously creative, there really aren't words or signs or endorsements enough to recommend this book, just pick it up and do it - if you're in any way the least bit alive, this book will leave you wrecked. In a good way... More...

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Oct 21, 2009

Judy rated it:

This book came as a gift to one of my sons, but I got to it first. It's a funny, yet deeply touching coming of age story of the irrepressible Joey Margolis, who as a kid during the 1930's continues to write President Roosevelt, giving him advice on how to manage the economy, and later, the war.
The story really revolved around Joey's implausible relationship with a New York Giants player named Charlie Banks, who first finds Joey's attempts to get to know him irritating. As Joey's relentles More...

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