Can you believe him. Muscle Man McGinty has some nerve. He just moved onto our street and he already thinks he's better than the rest of us. He challenged us to a game of kickball, everyone against him. I'm gonna prove that kid is a liar. Tamara is upset for so many reasons. Muscle Man McGinty moved in to her best friends old house, he lies, and she knows he is up to no good, but no one will believe her. Mixed in is the first moon walk by Neil Armstrong and the effects of the Vietnam War on this close nit community. ( )

Growing up on Long Island, these were the neighborhoods we all longed for. Dads went off to work at Grumman while moms swapped recipes over tea. For us kids, all that really mattered was the ice cream man, hanging out on the front lawn and an afternoon game of kickball. As I hunt for a home here on Long Island, it is a neighborhood like this one that I search for. Welcome to Massapequa Park during the summer of '69.

Tamara, a spunky 10-year-old with no filter between her thoughts and her mouth, spends most of her summer days with the kids in the neighborhood. All, but her best friend who recently moved away. All, including the biggest liar she has ever come into contact with - "Muscle Man" McGinty. This scrawny new kid on the block gets under Tamara's skin in every way a fellow 10-year-old can, starting with moving into her best friend's old house. And if that isn't bad enough, everyone else in the neighborhood seems to think he's just swell. He's making friends and getting free ice cream all over the place with his nice guy act. But she's not buying it. A few too many fibs followed by bragging about his kickball capabilities finally sends Tamara over the edge.

She embarks on a mission to uncover just what this McGinty kid is all about. But what she discovers is a lesson many of us learn time and time again. That maybe, just maybe, people are the way they are for a reason. That things aren't always what they seem. That there are life experiences that often push us forward. Tamara learns a lot more about compassion, loneliness and suburbia survival than she may have intended.

Intertwined with the historical elements of one of America's most significant and determining summers, this book will have readers give a few chuckles while holding their hands over their hearts in both heartache and patriotism.

Though this story took place in the late 1960's, I found myself reminiscing about my own childhood just a few towns away in the 1980's (insert Brian Adams' "Summer of '69 here) on Long Island. They had the Apollo, we had the Challenger. Family never returning from Vietnam, friends going off to Iran. That personal connection that a reader finds through setting can make a story come alive like no other. And it her debut novel, librarian Nan Marino nailed it.
(Gr.4-7) ( )

It's the summer of 1969 and the whole world is waiting to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon. Tamara is gritting her teeth and dealing with Douglas "Muscle Man" McGinty, the wimpy new foster kid who's replaced Tamara's best friend Kebsie down the street. He thinks he's so great, but Tamara can see straight through his lies. He's not training for the Olympics. And Neil Armstrong is not his uncle, no matter what the wormy kid says. Why can't Muscle Man go away and send Kebsie back? Why can't everything go back to the way it was before?

Oooh, an unreliable narrator. Maybe even an unlikeable narrator, but definitely one I could sympathize with. Though the novel is short, Tamara speaks volumes in what she doesn't say. I feel like I'm still uncovering layers as I go over the novel in my head. ( )

It's the summer of 1969 and the world is getting ready to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon but it will take more than "one giant step" for Tamara to understand the new boy in the neighborhood, Muscle Man McGinty. ( )

Tamara Ann Simpson lives in the small town of Massapequa, New York.It's 1969 and all of the kids in this small suburban town all know each other well and meet up for daily kickball games.Tamara is hurting.She is missing her best friend who has moved away suddenly and her big brother who has gone away to college.She recognizes the limitations of her distant parents.All of her anger is directed towards a new kid, Douglas, who she nicknames Muscle Man McGinty.Muscle Man Mc
Ginty tells "whoopers" - lies that cannot possibly be true and Tamara doesn't understand why no one else is bothered by this stretching of the truth.Many of the details of the sixties are captured in this book - from Jack LaLane on televison to drinking Tang .Bigger events like the Vietnam War and man's first walk on the moon also drive the storyline.In the end, though, this is a story about loneliness and the need to connect with others. Tamara, learns a bit of sympathy and compassion and she receives a fair doze from others as well.Parents who remember this time, will enjoy this book along with their kids. ( )