The Maple Manor

In The Maple Manor, new author James Jay Tracey offers readers a glimpse into what a Midwest suburban childhood offered kids during the 1960s. More than mere reflection, this debut literary fiction is a graceful ode to simpler times. From cookie-cutter architecture to a view of the gently populated nearly rural landscapes, Tracey shows, without pretense or irony, the protective hold that life in a subdivision affords its children. It is there that Johnny and Terry live by the seat of their pants and are daring to a fault. Genuinely good boys, they believe that if one commits a crime, he should do the time, but if he is not a suspect after two days, he's off the hook. In this winsome tale of yesteryear, boys will be boys, though they watch adults with a keen, insightful eye and proffer opinions that are either on the money or only a little off the mark. As beginning chapters of boyhood slips through their fingers, they seem to realize that what they had was really, really good.