Aquarius Falling

Aquarius Falling is a fascinating read. The story begins in 1964, a whole different era in itself. The main character, Delaney, was going to college, but as is common with young college kids, he got off on the wrong track with girls and drinking so he was booted out, and that is where the real-life learning experience begins.

He decides to head to Ocean City, where he wants to get a job and dreams of saving enough money to return to school and pay his own way, since he lost his full scholarship. Being an orphan and getting into college was a big success, but blowing it leaves Delaney with very little money, no car, and no options but to hit the pavement and live on the mercies of motorists along the road. In Ocean City, it’s not quite the busy time of year, but finding work becomes his main goal.

On his first night he runs into a girl on the boardwalk named Misty, who intrigues him. He doesn’t quite understand who she is or how their lives will become so interwoven until later in the story. Initially, he stays at a boarding house filled with some unsavory-looking characters, but he becomes friends with Jack, the leader of that group. Unfortunately, their lifestyles bring Delaney into a whole other world of trouble. Even so, he and Jack continue to be drawn to each other and become an unlikely duo. Whereas Delaney is smart yet passive and goal-oriented, Jack is the muscle type, always looking for trouble and the easy way out.

Delaney finds work and meets a nice girl named Wendy who is involved in the rights movement of that time. Delaney is enamored of all that is good in Wendy and how fun she is, but things always seem to take a turn in Delaney’s life. When he loses his job, his good buddy Jack comes to the rescue with a very unlikely plan, heading Delaney down a road of girls, money, drugs and yet more trouble.

This book features many life lessons and truths about that time in history, and the writer has captured the scene of Ocean City and the lives of his characters in such a meaningful way that the reader just ends up loving and relating to each of the characters. It’s difficult not to feel for them and their struggles and all they go through together, as well as the unique personalities and what each brings to the unlikely group that develops.

The only part that disappointed me was the ending. I definitely didn’t see it coming, and to me it seemed that there should have been something more. But maybe that means another book is on the way to finish the story regarding Delaney and Misty.