The Summer That Melted Everything

It's the summer of 1984 and a heat wave is scorching the small town of Breathed, OH. Seemingly out of nowhere, a boy named Sal appears. He's wearing overalls and asking strangers for ice cream. He also claims to be the devil. He relates anecdotes about Hell, makes nonchalant remarks to narrator Fielding Bliss about his "fall," and generally makes people wary and uncomfortable—all but the Bliss family, who think he's a runaway and immediately take him in. Knowledge of Sal's presence spreads, and temperatures and tensions rise. When accidents start to occur, predictably, the townspeople blame Sal. But life in Breathed isn't all that it seems. As families and fanatics fight their personal demons, the line between good and evil becomes increasingly murky. Despite the sometimes heavy-handed and overworked prose, at its highest points this debut novel shines with beauty and lyricism.