The book is deceptively simple, reminiscent of the sort of books assigned to honors English student in 8th grade and not read by anyone else, but it is also really effective.

Most authors these days start where this book ends, saturating the reader with angst and brutality on every page, wallowing in desensitized "realism" and achieving nothing.

This is the most depressing book I've read in a long time. It's anti-cathartic and masterful in its tension. I do, however, find myself wondering how it would read if the marketing hadn't let me know that something awful was coming ... ( )

After reading "Come Winter," written by Evan Hunter, I discovered this book and had to find out what Peter, David, and Sandy were like when they were teens. At first, they seem pretty ordinary. Preoccupied with themselves—but what teen isn't—and maybe a little pampered and privileged, but as the story moves along, they start to reveal their nastier sides. Sandy, a long-legged, blond, is probably the leader, although not in everything. David, a narcissistic, handsome, flute-player sees Sandy as a way to fulfill his sexual urges, while Peter has delusions that the three of them are one perfect organism. When a shy girl named Rhoda enters the picture and fails to see the danger, she quickly becomes caught in their web. The budding sociopaths easily manipulate Rhoda until it's too late for her to escape their selfish desires. The end is wrapped up quickly by Mr. Hunter, and it isn't pretty. You might even say it's quite disturbing, but it does explain the oddly captivating behavior of Sandy, David, and Peter as dangerous adults in the sequel—Come Winter. If you enjoyed this book, I highly recommend you read it also. ( )

Dall'autore delle storie poliziesche dell'87° Distretto, che firmava con lo pseudonimo di Ed McBain, ecco un romanzo sull'adolescenza e sulla scoperta dell'amore. Pubblicato nel 1968, il romanzo racconta l'amicizia tra due giovani e una spregiudicata ragazza ribelle durante le assolate vacanze su un 'isola.
Hunter che si definiva "un artigiano" della letteratura, si rivela anche qui grande autore, capace di ritrarre una generazione e i suoi fermenti, i sogni e le illusioni della società americana. Indubbiamente rimane nella rosa degli scrittori più modesti in assoluto, sobrio e privo di ogni narcisismo ha firmato sceneggiature per film famosi, ha realizzato celebri serie televisive poliziesche, ha dato vita a personaggi completi di anima. ( )