Anchor’s Mercy, a small coastal town off the coast of Maine, looks like the perfect vacation destination: quaint shops, small-town charm, and postcard views. But underneath that surface is something much darker. Decades ago, a chemical spill in the 1960s left many of the town’s residents sick, and its effects are still being felt generations later.
Coming Back to a Fractured Life
Ollie has already lived the consequences of Anchor’s Mercy’s hidden history: when his mom got sick, the family spent a year away on the mainland for her treatment, and during that time Ollie cut off contact with his friends. Now they’re finally back — just in time for things in Anchor’s Mercy to take a horrifying turn.
Ryan La Sala blends atmospheric horror with real-world environmental injustice, using Ollie’s return home to explore grief, isolation, and the long shadow a community’s buried secrets can cast over the people who live there.
A Town Haunted by What It Won’t Face
“Dead of Summer” asks what happens when a community’s history of harm goes unaddressed — literally and figuratively. As Ollie confronts both the friendships he abandoned and the darker forces stirring in his hometown, the novel builds toward a reckoning that’s as much about facing the truth as it is about survival.
Content Note
This FTR title includes serious illness, environmental contamination and its long-term health effects, grief, and horror elements. Parents and educators should preview and be prepared for conversations about environmental injustice and loss.
Perfect For
High school readers (Grades 9-12) who enjoy atmospheric horror grounded in real-world issues. A strong pick for readers interested in environmental justice, small-town secrets, and stories about reconnecting with friends and home after loss.