get the book – Terry Shannon

★★★★★
“A mesmerizing story of friendships, innocent first love and deep feelings at a summer camp”
– Pamela R.

A Refreshing Love Story

Ladies, are you tired of reading about handsome pilots, who, on their off-days, run animal shelters for rescue dogs? Are you sick of cliches posing as real characters? If you are, then ‘Mt. Everest in Flip-Flops’ is the romance story for you.

In 1972, an idyllic summer camp seems the perfect place to decompress for ex-Army nurse Allie Smith, fresh off a tour in Vietnam, ten weeks of treating nothing more serious than bee stings.Jake Sullivan is a first-year counselor who falls madly for her, his first time in love. It simply doesn’t register with him that she’s older and a knockout and about a thousand miles out of his league.

Allie likes him immediately like a little brother, but Jake has bigger plans. And in the end, she’s helpless to do anything but succumb to his tender advances.

Do yourself a favor and spend ten summer weeks at Fort Ross. We’ve got a creaky bunkbed waiting with a musty sleeping bag on top of it. I guarantee you, you won’t want to leave.

Mt. Everest In Flip Flops

For Jake, Fort Ross summer camp was about to be a 10-week job as a counselor..

For Allie, it was the beginning of a healing of a past wound..

But little did they know what Fort Ross would mean to them.

Soon their worlds would collide – and they would experience profound love, genuine care and deep feelings for each other…

During that summer of 1972, Fort Ross summer camp echoed of laughter and playfulness of six friends that formed a beautiful friendship..

…and It’s atmosphere pulsated with the growing chemistry of Jake and Allie.

Mt. Everest In Flip Flops takes you on a beautiful journey of first crushes and first love at a summer camp.

It’s a page turner, hard to put down… so get ready to experience the magic of Fort Ross.

Here’s what 100+ readers have to say about Mt. Everest In Flip Flops

This book took me back to my years as a camper then later to my years as a counselor. I could not put this book down as each page took me back to my youth.

Wow! What a fantastic novel. The characters, the story, the charm and the believability grab you on page one and hold you captive till the final word! I loved it!

This book took me back to the years I went to camp. The characters are well developed and the plot moves quickly . I recommend it.

This is a sweet story of first love combined with a troubling contemporary issue facing the Catholic Church. Great story!

This is a very intriguing story told by a masterful storyteller.

I read this wonderful book in one sitting. Not because it’s a novella; rather because it was perfect. The simple unassuming prose tells a wonderful story. The characters are well developed. Everything works. I’m so happy I gave this author/book a chance. It will stay with me a long time.

The so very sad ending spoiled it for me, but it was true to life and the experiences that shape us. Jake's experiences that summer were a lot for a nineteen year old to handle and process

What a fantastic down memory lane foe anyone who ever worked in or went to summer camp. The book jogged some great and not so great memories for me. Superbly written!

Excellent read. Well crafted, paced, and many unexpected plot twists. Also raises important issues of the day.

I was sucked in from the very beginning!! I had no idea where the story was heading and thoroughly enjoyed finding out. Excellent short book!!

This is a detailed and compelling story. The characters are so realistic and I couldn’t put it down! Great story!

I couldn't put it down. You get caught up in the characters. It made me want to keep reading and I didn't want it to end. It was heartbreaking, fun and love all in one.

This is an amazing story. You think you're just reading a romance, and you are. It's a fun, wonderful courtship. Then the end takes you to a place you're no way expecting.

"Shannon writes a story that takes you through every emotion and just when you think it's over he heals in a couple more. A genuinely good story!"

Wow! This story was an emotional journey with so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. At first, with the title and the rats and the bees, I thought this book was going to be a comedy. But then it slowly developed into a very sweet romance. They were such a cute couple together and in spite of the age difference I thought their story would be all sweetness to the end. I couldn't be more wrong. The story twisted again and again into directions I never could have guessed in a million years. I couldn't put this book down!

If you were a counselor or a camper at Fort Scott camps, this book is a must read. I was totally transported back to when I was a camper at Fort Scott in the 1960’s. It is a quick read and totally entertaining.

"The book brought back distant but fond memories of my carefree days of being young and single. The fun-loving antics and crushes of youth in a special setting are wonderfully portrayed. It was a delight to read this romantic novel."

"This is a sweet story. It reads like a biography which is rather enjoyable. The camp sounds idyllic and reminds of many glorious years of summer camp, bringing back warm memories. The writing is simple, not flowery like someone hoping to write the next bestseller. Rather it is reads more as a recording of history and recalling love and loss. It is poignant and is a reminder of how temporary certain events in life can be."

This is mostly a very touching love story about a 19-year old camp counselor and the camp’s 26-year old nurse. Very little is actually written about the pedophile priest. I would have liked to have read more about the priest’s transgressions and how they were handled. Kept me reading though.

Shannon writes a story that takes you through every emotion and just when you think it's over he heals in a couple more. A genuinely good story!

"A cute read of young, first love and looking back at what use to be and appreciating what is."

"As the book began, it seemed light and a little fun. But the core story was captivating and kept progressing. In the last few chapters it suddenly brought a lot of emotional depth. Very glad I bought and read this small, moving book."

I usually don't enjoy reading male authors or male protagonists especially if there is even a hint of romance (sorry for the apparent literary sexism; that's a whole other conversation). At its heart, this is a coming of age story told from the male perspective. Secondary plots involving sexual abuse make this story current ( it is set in the 1970’s) and even more relevant. I found myself looking for information about the author and verifying the novel's fictional status when I finished because this story rings true.

From the book

C.C. was looking out for me.

“It was Jake’s idea, Allie. He’s the one who thought of it.”

Allie turned to me and said in a soft voice, “Thank you.” She didn’t say anything more. Instead she put her hand on my shoulder and left it there for a little while, massaging it gently.

I thought she might start crying again, but she was able to hold it off. What she managed when she was looking at me was a sad smile.

Dalton had a second piece of cake, and that was as long as the four of them stayed.

“Are you ready to roll, Cecilia?” Stuart said. Dalton and Martha caught the same wave out.

All four kissed Allie on her cheek before they left. C.C. gave her a big hug, too. “Happy birthday, Allie,” I heard her whisper.

Allie and I were left standing there. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

We sat on a tree trunk fairly close together, maybe six inches, and looked into the fire for a long time. I think I was afraid to say anything. She wanted me to stay.

I was so far up in the thin air I needed to get used to it. I believed she was trying to as well.

"I've been meaning to tell this story for 30 years. I can tell you, this book will take you back to some of your fondest memories. I am so excited for you to read it."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I have spent almost all my life, except for my years at Ohio State, where I studied journalism. My adult life I have tried to make it writing novels, with little success. To support myself I’ve been a painting contractor and house-flipper.

From 1972 till 1975 I worked at a Catholic summer camp run by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The people I met there are still my best friends. Ten of us guys have been going on the same golfing trip to Kentucky for thirty-five years. (It started as three days. We’re almost up to a week.)

During the four years I worked there, at least fifteen marriages were made over those long summer nights, (not me) and none have ended in divorce. Looking back on it now, it truly was a magical place, and I wish everyone could experience something like it in their youth. I tried to show what it was like falling in love there.

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