Looking for Miracles: A Memoir About Loving

by A.E. Hotchner

Recalls the summer of 1936 when the author bluffed his way as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp counselor and took his younger brother along with him into dangers, near disaster, and near disgrace

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Aaron Edward Hotchner was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer. He wrote many television screenplays as well as a biography of Ernest Hemingway. He co-founded with Paul Newman the charity food company Newman's Own.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second of Hotchner’s childhood memoirs.

This one takes place in 1936, three years after the first book ended.

At age 16, Aaron has just graduated from high school. He’s set to start college in the fall having been awarded a scholarship for Washington University in his hometown of Saint Louis.

But Aaron badly needs a summer job to pay for the expenses not covered by his scholarship.

A friend tells him about a new summer camp opening in the Ozarks that is hiring camp counselors.

The problem is, Aaron has never been to a summer camp, knows nothing about camping, canoeing, tying knots, or building a campfire. He he can’t even swim.

Being a voracious reader is it possible to learn everything he needs to know from library books before his interview?

I didn’t want this one to end.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long time ago this was made into a movie on the Disney channel and I was absolutely in love with it. Having recently found out that it was based on a book, I decided to pick it up.

The book is simple and a quick read. Hotchner can spin a good yarn around a campfire, so his memoir about his summer as a camp counselor is both funny and outlandish. Unfortunately, Hotchner remains largely superficial, skipping over the emotional moments that this reader longed for, particularly in connection to his burgeoning relationship with his younger brother, something that was remedied in the Disney film. Hotchner is also his own biggest fan, which occasionally distracts from the story.

This would, I think, be a fun read for pre-teen boys, who would get a kick out of the pranks and practices of this camper.

[Mommalibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

See review for The Boyhood Memoirs of A. E. Hotchner: King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles

[River fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

hard to find this book but it was good, liked it. not usually my genre.