Last summer, Quinnen was the star pitcher of her baseball team, the Panthers. They were headed for the championship, and her loudest supporter at every game was her best friend and older sister, Haley. This summer, everything is different. Haley’s death, at the end of last summer, has left Quinnen and her parents reeling. Without Haley in the stands, Quinnen doesn’t want to play baseball. It seems like nothing can fill the Haley-sized hole in her world.

The one glimmer of happiness comes from the Bandits, the local minor-league baseball team. For the first time, Quinnen and her family are hosting one of the players for the season. Without Haley, Quinnen’s not sure it will be any fun, but soon she befriends a few players. With their help, can she make peace with the past and return to the pitcher’s mound?

Last Days of Summer is a contemporary American classic—a poignant and hilarious tale of baseball, hero worship, eccentric behavior, and unlikely friendship.

The story follows Joey Margolis, a neighborhood punching bag, growing up goofy and mostly fatherless in Brooklyn in the early 1940s. Joey is a boy looking for a hero, and he decides to latch on to Charlie Banks, the all-star third baseman for the New York Giants.

However, Joey's chosen champion doesn't exactly welcome the extreme attention of a persistent young fan with an overactive imagination. Then again, this strange, needy kid might be exactly what Banks needs.

This improbable friendship unfolds through letters, postcards, notes, telegrams, newspaper clippings, report cards, and ticket stubs, featuring a colorful cast of supporting characters.