Boys on the Edge: A Coming-of-Age Memoir on the Outer Banks

by Sam Bass

It’s the summer of 1969. The country is on edge with civil rights, desegregation, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Four teenage boys set out for adventure on Cape Lookout - a remote island along North Carolina’s Southern Outer Banks. Diving headlong into their new freedom, they quickly discover the edges of fun and foolhardiness, life and death, and love and loss. Risky surfing, water skiing, and driving are their outlets for anger, shame, isolation, and guilt. Cuts and bruises become their badges of growing trust in each other, as they struggle together through adversity toward manhood.
In Boys on the Edge, author Sam Bass invites readers to vividly experience the summer of ’69 as he did, listening to the music of a loud, hopeful generation, on a beautiful and dangerous island called Cape Lookout.

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2024

Reviews

[Jessi Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Sam Bass has a unique tale to tell - a teen boy's summer of self-actualization in an adult-free A-frame house on Cape Lookout. Most of these homes were removed in the 70s, and accounts such as Bass' are all that remains of their legacy.

Bass surprises the reader with well-wrought descriptions like "A blazing orange sun nearing the horizon cast a soft golden hue on the sandy beaches and the white diamonds of the distant lighthouse," while maintaining momentum and an action-packed storyline. His debut book shows promise of insight into human nature and the connections that make life meaningful.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coming of age memoir reminded me of my own teenage/early adult summers on the water, both lake and beach. Sam Bass left me with so many questions about Cape Lookout and its personal stories and history. I hope to find photographs showing the cabins and other buildings that once stood on Cape Lookout. As much as Sam vividly described his surroundings and time at the Cape, he left me wanting more. This was also a personal read as I know Sam Bass and his family. I've heard some of the tales and hope Sam will share more of the Cape stories. For those of us who grew up around water, Boys on the Edge offers many reminiscences of my own stories on the water.

[Emily Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Brought so many happy memories of beautiful Cape Lookout island. A wonderful story of family, friendship, and adventures towards adulthood. And the music references are just a bonus!