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Summer Storms
Sixteen-year-old Earl Layman is going stir-crazy. Secluded with the flu inside the four walls of his home and only the escape of his video games to help him through, Earl is struggling to keep his sanity.
That is until he notices the boy next door, seventeen-year-old Rex Chambers, raking leaves in the adjacent yard.
Earl’s summer is about to change. Before another torrential rainstorm hits the small upstate New York town of Betham County, they meet during an awkward cell phone exchange. As they start to connect through occasional texts, Earl and Rex enter the throes of adolescent lust.
In the early stages of forging a lasting connection, their family situations threaten to destroy all they are working for.
That is until he notices the boy next door, seventeen-year-old Rex Chambers, raking leaves in the adjacent yard.
Earl’s summer is about to change. Before another torrential rainstorm hits the small upstate New York town of Betham County, they meet during an awkward cell phone exchange. As they start to connect through occasional texts, Earl and Rex enter the throes of adolescent lust.
In the early stages of forging a lasting connection, their family situations threaten to destroy all they are working for.
ebook
Published September 20, 2021
68 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Grant Bruso
29 books240 followersThomas Grant Bruso knew he wanted to be a writer at an early age. He has been a voracious reader of genre fiction since childhood.
His literary inspirations are Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Jim Grimsley, Karin Fossum, and Joyce Carol Oates.
Bruso loves animals, reading books, and writing fiction, and prefers Sudoku to crossword puzzles.
In another life, he was a freelance writer and wrote for magazines and newspapers. In college, he won the Hermon H. Doh Sonnet Competition. Now, he writes and publishes fiction and reviews books for his hometown newspaper, The Press-Republican.
He lives in upstate New York.
His literary inspirations are Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Jim Grimsley, Karin Fossum, and Joyce Carol Oates.
Bruso loves animals, reading books, and writing fiction, and prefers Sudoku to crossword puzzles.
In another life, he was a freelance writer and wrote for magazines and newspapers. In college, he won the Hermon H. Doh Sonnet Competition. Now, he writes and publishes fiction and reviews books for his hometown newspaper, The Press-Republican.
He lives in upstate New York.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2025
Summer storms are usually calming and refreshing. In Thomas Grant Bruso's latest novel, these weather phenomena carefully balance the peace we all seek with the intense drama of being a moody teenager. And not just an ordinary one... our two protagonists are truly dealing with personal heartache and trauma. One's lost his brother, and the mother who should protect him seems only to want to punish the surviving son. Another must come out to his parents while dealing with a best friend's sudden and confusing news. Together, the two young men's world come crashing together and test how they handle their wavering emotions on the cusp of adulthood.
Bruso has created memorable, honest characters who live and breathe the world we live in today, perhaps offering an extra portion of drama to make the story stand out even more. He easily conveys the imbalance of youth and maturity in boys trying to determine who they are, and with each case, the characters shine. Teenage angst. Near death experiences. Alarming attractions. Confusing thoughts. All the scenes showcase what it's like to discover your identity, and Bruso handles them with generous tact, witty dialog, and quiet moments of reflection. I enjoyed his approach to telling the two separate but related stories and remembered how important it is to sample all different kinds of literature. I will read more from Bruso in the future, and I'm grateful for the uplifting outlook I had after absorbing this one.
Bruso has created memorable, honest characters who live and breathe the world we live in today, perhaps offering an extra portion of drama to make the story stand out even more. He easily conveys the imbalance of youth and maturity in boys trying to determine who they are, and with each case, the characters shine. Teenage angst. Near death experiences. Alarming attractions. Confusing thoughts. All the scenes showcase what it's like to discover your identity, and Bruso handles them with generous tact, witty dialog, and quiet moments of reflection. I enjoyed his approach to telling the two separate but related stories and remembered how important it is to sample all different kinds of literature. I will read more from Bruso in the future, and I'm grateful for the uplifting outlook I had after absorbing this one.
October 21, 2021
Like a soothing, refreshing summer rain, Summer Storms drips on your emotions, awaking forgotten memories of first sympathies, crushes, loves. It is a story of two boys—three actually—and their families. Functional and dysfunctional ones. A real-life story about painful regrets for those we have lost and cannot forget and let go. About injustices and hurt of childhood and adolescent years, unimaginable things parents can do to their children just because they cannot deal with who they are on one side and an incredible, unreserved support on the other side.
Summer Storms is a tender novel about two different worlds living next to each other, in the same neighborhood, merging with the wave of hand, a coy smile, with the power of a simple “hi” of liberated teenage love.
You don’t want to spend your summer without it. Or any other season.
I have received an advance review copy from the author at no cost and with no obligation toward the author.
Summer Storms is a tender novel about two different worlds living next to each other, in the same neighborhood, merging with the wave of hand, a coy smile, with the power of a simple “hi” of liberated teenage love.
You don’t want to spend your summer without it. Or any other season.
I have received an advance review copy from the author at no cost and with no obligation toward the author.
April 20, 2022
Beautiful Story of Discovering First Love
This is the heartwarming story of two teens—perhaps three—who discover emotions they didn’t know existed. Storms explores [some of] the early course of navigating the arduous path to discovering new feelings and emotions. The principal magic of it happens under the sycamore tree, protected from the rain. (The reader is allowed to interpret the metaphor for themselves.) So many elements are in play in this short novel, and leave you wanting more—hoping for more, perhaps a follow-up story. First loves are tough to explore, and Storms seeks to elicit tender, innocuous memories from our own adolescent years. This was an enjoyable read; I highly encourage others to meet Earl, Rex, and Andy.
This is the heartwarming story of two teens—perhaps three—who discover emotions they didn’t know existed. Storms explores [some of] the early course of navigating the arduous path to discovering new feelings and emotions. The principal magic of it happens under the sycamore tree, protected from the rain. (The reader is allowed to interpret the metaphor for themselves.) So many elements are in play in this short novel, and leave you wanting more—hoping for more, perhaps a follow-up story. First loves are tough to explore, and Storms seeks to elicit tender, innocuous memories from our own adolescent years. This was an enjoyable read; I highly encourage others to meet Earl, Rex, and Andy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews