Ian Barker

One Hot Summer Ian Barker

John Burton is seventeen, it's the long hot British summer of 1976 and his life is about to change, in ways he has carefully planned, and ways he cannot yet know, as he embarks on a roller-coaster journey to maturity. John's world is populated by those who have helped mould his character. His parents, proof that opposites attract; Penny, his girlfriend, evidence that persistence can sometimes pay off; his grandmother, incorrigible and unshockable; Craig, his best friend, confidant, and sounding board; Alan, who holds a secret only John knows; Katie, object of John's pubescent fantasies; Deborah, who collects underpants; Graham, the first local to embrace punk; Dino, John's rival in love; Sandy, the dog; and other bit part players. In a tale encompassing love, sex, friendship, rivalry, guilt, death and with a little help from a cartoon devil; for a boy to discover the pleasures and pains of adult life, all it takes is One Hot Summer...