Sputnik Summer, a new Adirondacks-based novel written by Paul Castellani, has recently been published by North Country Books.
The book, set in 1958 in the fictional resort town of Hawk Cove—between Inlet and Old Forge—is a story of what happens when simmering tensions between summer tourists and the folks who serve them boil over.
Dramatic events force characters to question whether they can trust their friends and ponder the consequences should their secrets be revealed.
The main character is Kevin Boyle, a 17-year-old Hawk Cove resident who is coping with the challenge of becoming an adult and anxious to move out of his small town.
Because his family owns a local resort, he is torn between his relationships with his local and seasonal friends.
Castellani, a Syracuse native who currently resides in Delmar, gained inspiration for the book through his own Adirondack experiences.
“From the ages of nine to 21, I spent every summer living and working in an Adirondack resort town not unlike the setting of Sputnik Summer. And my family owned a cottage colony very similar to the one in the novel. So, I’ve always thought of myself as growing up in the Adirondacks,” he said in a recent interview.
Sputnik Summer is currently available through North Country Books at northcountrybooks.com and will soon be available locally at Old Forge Hardware and Adirondack Reader.
Castellani said he will be conducting local book signing events in the coming months.
