Them Summer Daze

Are YOU Cool Enough?

Dottie was born with a caul over her face. Her grandmother, the local root woman, believes this anomaly of nature means Dottie can see the future. And while Dottie is prone to rare "visions" (which mama would rather she keep to herself), Dottie must have been looking the wrong way when she got blindsided by the summer of 1969.

All Dottie was expecting at the start of what looked to be another hot, boring, muggy, buggy summer in Charleston, South Carolina was to transform herself into an icon of cool by the end of it, someone worthy of praise from the High Priestesses of Cool - her idols, the Project Girls.

Now, Lisa, Rosemarie and Sherry, those girls oozed cool - from their hair and clothes, to the way they dance and even the self-assured way they walk. (Mama thought they acted too "loose and grown," but what does she know!)

Armed with a notepad, and true to her bookish nature, Dottie plans to study the art of "cool" so she, too, can sashay through the halls of middle school in the fall.

But the boring summer Dottie was expecting turns out to be anything but! Her visions are happening with more frequency than usual and a criminal encounter with the Project Girls sets into motion more uncomfortable encounters to follow, all while the summer explodes around her in a hot ball of mysterious fires in the neighborhood, civil unrest around town and family drama at home, ending with a life-altering event that has Dottie rethinking what's "cool" and questioning whether being "in" with the "in crowd" is worth the price of admission.

Dorothy Givens Terry, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, weaves childhood memories, local color, a bit of history and even hints of the songs of that pivotal summer into a coming-of-age story that touches on the timeless themes of race, community, friendship, family, peer pressure, self-acceptance and belonging.