Synopsis

Jacob is at that most magical time between childhood and adolescence. As the end of the school year approaches, he is dreaming of baseball and the beach, but most of all, about working on the comic book he and his best friend Jonathan have created, The Osprey Man. Then tragedy strikes and Jacob has to find an inner strength he is not sure he has.

This beautifully written tale of youth, coping, and working through grief is ideal for readers of all ages.

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Praise

“Osprey Man reveals its surprises, unwrapping them through the course of the story like birthday gifts.”- D.Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Chris Tuthill crafts a really touching story with very relatable themes here. It’s a vivid coming of age tale of loss and endurance.”- Matt Caputo, Goodreads 5 Star Review

“I truly enjoyed this book. Full of nostalgia, heart break, love and loss. I definitely recommend this for young and old alike!”-Maria, Goodreads 5 Star Review

Guest Review by Nora

Summer 1984, a fourth grader named Jacob is looking forward to his school break and enjoying the long summer evenings when he receives some life-altering news. His best friend, Jon, has been killed in an accident.

Not only was Jon a treasured confidant, but he was responsible for the illustrations in the comic book that he and Jacob were creating together. Osprey Man is a superhero with huge wings and razor-sharp talons who catches poachers and stops them from hurting animals.

Without Jon’s help, Jacob is unsure if he can finish the comic and this adds to the grief that he feels over the loss of his friend. Also adding to this is the loss of Jacob’s younger brother, Mikey, to cancer two years earlier. As Jacob begins working through his grief over both deaths, he tries to carry on with his summer and begins working at a local pizza place owned by the father of a friend.

Feeling compelled to finish ‘Osprey Man’ and share it with the world, Jacob asks for a friend named Kris to help him complete the illustrations, but the boys suffer more difficulties along the way.

This is the first novel by Christopher Tuthill that I have read, but I would gladly read more! The atmosphere in this novel was perfect. The nostalgia of the 1980s and the beginning of summer after school lets out created a pitch perfect setting that made the background of the novel almost feel like a character in its own right.

Learning how to cope with grief is incredibly difficult for people of all ages, and that really comes through in Tuthill’s usage of a young boy as the main character of this novel. Jacob’s grief for Jon, and for his younger brother are timeless in many ways. This is a satisfying story with a very touching ending.

Excerpt

There will never be another day like this, he thought. Tears sprang into the corners of his eyes at the idea of it. There would never be another last day of fourth grade/first day of summer when the finches land upon your hands as you hold out seed for them, when Suzie Vail asked you to her beach house, and Chaz Mancuso wanted to be your pal and offered you a job, when the streets were lined with shoppers eager beyond belief for the warm days ahead and the freedom those days promised. When those shoppers browsed the stores for beach chairs at Swezey’s and fishing line at Edward’s sporting goods and new tennis shoes at Stride Rite. When the sun blinded your eyes and the big cauliflower truck rumbled by, spewing diesel exhaust, bringing its bounty west to the big city, when the lunch counter at the Star Confectionary across the street was filled with kids getting ice cream floats, when he knew there were fifteen dates marked on his calendar for the little league season (and maybe this year his team, the Moose Lodge, would finally finish in the first division), when the Boston Terrier passing by at the end of an old man’s leash paused to consider him and then licked his hand free of pizza grease. It was an overabundance of goodness, and he wanted to savor it all, but he couldn’t.

There would never be another day like this, that much he knew, but he also knew there would never be another Jonathan Hubbard, and the grief almost swallowed Jacob whole. The tears streamed down his face and he did nothing to wipe them, because he knew they were sacred, and he thought, I can’t go to see his parents like this. I can only go to Golden Memories.

© Christopher Tuthill

About the Author

Christopher Tuthill’s short fiction has appeared in The Mythic Circle, Dark Tales from Elder Regions, and Tales of Reverie. A native of Riverhead, on Long Island, and a graduate of Catholic schools, Chris grew up around many of the places and people that inspire his writing.

He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife and children. He works as a librarian, and his hobbies include board games, baseball, hiking, camping, and telling stories to his three children. Among his other interests, he is co-founder of the New York Tolkien Conference.

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Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies.

Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide.

This giveaway ends on October 28, 2022 midnight, pacific time.

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