The Long, Hot Summer

About the Book

Charlie Draper has been struggling to be normal all his life. He’s successfully hidden his extraordinary brain power until the 6th grade. One day in Mr. Twiddle’s class, his boredom and frustration finally reach a boiling point. The in-class melt down results in his expulsion from ‘normal school’ – to date the best day of Charlie’s young life.

He was sent for a psychological exam. The results reveal his abnormal intellect and lead to his placement in a ‘special’ school for the gifted but behaviorally challenged, The Brain Learning Trust or ‘BLT’ for short.

Here, Charlie finds a home – a place where he can be his brilliant self and not be scrutinized for ‘cheating’. Charlie and the other BLT members are allowed to explore their interests with almost unlimited government funding. But there were strings attached … and Charlie had no idea that his education would include risking his life!

The summer of his entrance to the BLT has been extraordinarily hot – an unprecedented, world-wide, heat wave the scientific community can’t explain as simple global warming. The BLT is called upon to travel to England (from which the heatwave seems to be emanating) on an ‘undercover mission’ to find the source and destroy it. An insane adventure begins involving all the assets of the BLT group and involves Charlie up to his eyeballs in telepathy, telekinesis, and the ancient power of Gia, Mother Earth as wielded by a modern, Druid Priestess! Can Charlie and his group save the Earth from destruction?!!

About the Author

Jeff Shade is a special education teacher and brain injury survivor. After many years of struggle, he has finally returned to his passion—writing fiction. He likes to create over summer break so he can edit and submit during the school year. Shade lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.