Twenty Hillcrest Road

"…To believe I was above others in certain abilities was only the natural way for me to go; nonetheless, one unwritten rule I should’ve followed—but didn’t—was to never make stark comparisons or to strive unrealistically toward a goal which I instinctively knew I wouldn’t reach—ever. So it was with me. In most respects I was no different than those around me: we all had our yearnings and feelings. Simply, that’s the way it was..."

How does a bright boy deal with a father who insists that he play sports and an older brother who is the star athlete in the neighborhood? The author deals with these questions, and in a superb narrative style, conveys how it felt to grow up in a small New England town in the fifties. Told from the viewpoint of Ben, the middle son of a traditional family where mom stays home and dad is the breadwinner, his relationship with his parents and grandfather, schoolboy angst, and first love are all told with frankness and a spirit of adventure.