“Wait a minute. You’re saying I’m going to pretend I’m taking Ellen out on a date?”
I was 12, and the idea of knocking on the Goldfarbs’ door, looking Ellen’s grandfather in the eye, and tricking him troubled me. Besides, taking Ellen out on a date was something I wouldn’t have the courage to do on my own behalf, so where was I going to find the courage to do it for my pal Whitey?
“I don’t like this,” I said. “I’ve known Mr. Goldfarb all my life. I can’t lie to him like that…”
Lying, in general, was fine. You had to lie in order to have fun. Lying to my parents was one thing. I had an account with them. There was stuff I’d done on the positive side to cancel the stuff on the negative side. And besides, they were my parents, so they were obliged to forgive me.
Plus, the possibility of getting caught in this lie was greater than usual. Usually, I lied about a single event, like going to Brigantine or swimming in a forbidden spot. Those lies were controllable. We would take a trip, tell a lie, and it was over. But this might require many lies—perhaps a lie a night, for many nights. Very risky. And who was the beneficiary of these lies? Who was going to have all the fun?
Not me.
Atlantic City, summer of ’63. A boy. A girl. And the other boy, who reluctantly pretends to date her to help his pal. A funny, nostalgic novel of young love, best friends, and poetry, acclaimed Teacher Tales author Richard Adelman perfectly captures one 12-year-old’s last great summer as a kid down the shore.
A Day at the Beach. An unforgettable time. An unforgettable place. An unforgettable novel.
Preview the book here. Buy it here.
Cover by Wyatt Doyle and Jimmy Angelina
