Secondhand Summer

A Hatchet meets The Outsiders coming-of-age novel about a twelve-year-old boy who moves from a remote Kenai Peninsula homestead to Alaska’s largest city after the death of his father. The story takes place in the summer of 1965 when our hero, Sam Barger, explores a wilderness of a different kind in the crowded poverty of Anchorage just after the 1964 earthquake.

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Set in Alaska in 1965, a coming-of-age story of loss, adventure, violence, and redemption

Fourteen-year-old Sam Barger’s life changes forever when his father dies and his family is forced to move from a remote homestead and fishing camp to the busy city of Anchorage. Life in the big city hits Sam a little differently; suddenly he’s surrounded by cars and girls, poverty and diversity, and new places to explore. One day he and his new friends stumble upon an abandoned nightclub, and it fires up Sam’s imagination and leads him into dangers he never expected. Can he survive the wilds of Anchorage before the end of summer?

Secondhand Summer is the gripping debut novel inspired by author Dan Walker’s own life and experiences.