Ian McKenzie is a bright fifteen-year-old street kid who's been sent to a Washington State summer camp in 1944 to be straightened out. Andy Ackerman, the counselor assigned to the camp's charity cases, is a young man fresh from the war in the Pacific, tough, angry, but understanding. Through Ackerman's tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian gains pride and a sense of honor. It is Ackerman's tragedy that forms the cornerstone of McKenzie's life and makes this coming-of-age novel so compelling.
JUST WHO IS THIS RANDALL PLATT? (hint: Not a guy!)
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and those who don't own up to being either. Platt, a lifelong resident of the Upper Left Hand Corner, has been a full-time writer for twenty-five years which is certainly long enough to know better. But since Platt finds no shortage of fascinating characters and stories springing from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the books just keep coming. Which explains why nearly all Platt’s novels take place in Washington or Oregon, the exception being Liberty’s Christmas, which takes place in Texas during the Depression.
Platt's novels have won several awards including twice winning the Willa Literary Award and twice winning the Will Rogers Medallion for best young adult literature. Platt has also received the Keystone State Reading Award, been a finalist for the PEN Center USA award as well as the Washington State Book Award. Platt is a sought-after speaker and presenter at conferences, schools, and libraries, specializing in fun and honest answers shot straight from the hip.
Platt’s latest novels have two things common - they take place during World War II and feature a strong female protagonist who stands up, stands out and resists. The paperback edition of Incommunicado, set during the first turbulent months of World War Two and dealing with Japanese internment, releases in the spring of 2017.
The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, also releasing in the spring of 2017, is an intense young adult novel of street kids surviving and resisting on the Nazi-occupied streets of Warsaw.
Twice Hollywood has called Platt - her first novel, The Four Arrows Fe-As-Ko was filmed by Sullivan Entertainment as Promise The Moon. Another novel, The Cornerstone, has been optioned for feature film by actor/director Tom Skerritt.
Several times a week Platt puts away the words and heads for the nearest handball court or hiking trail.
More information than you ever wished to know about Platt is available at www.plattbooks.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as the usual book websites.