Following the harvest

"Following the Harvest tells the story of sixteen-year-old Will Haley, who journeys north in the summer of 1943 as a member of a wheat-harvesting crew." "As the novel opens, Will excitedly prepares to leave behind his small hometown, family, and Saturday-night get-togethers with his friends down at the soda shop and to set out on the road with a cast of unforgettable harvest crew members. Although he is eager to begin his "moveable adventure," Will worries about taking care of his father, a dangerously heavy drinker, as they work their way north together." "Traveling with his father, along with a humpbacked hired hand, a whiny truck driver and his pretty wife, two cousins from Mississippi, and his father's best friend, Will makes his way from Vernon, Oklahoma, to Rhame, North Dakota. Along the way he battles field fires and deadly weather, makes an unexpected visit to a house of ill repute, and takes a wild ride at the Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, among other exploits. Will and the crew members work hard and play hard, but tensions run high as Will's father continues to drink heavily and the other crew members face their own demons and dilemmas. Not everyone will make the return trip to Oklahoma, and when an accident claims a crew member's life, Will is forced to take charge and become mature beyond his years."--BOOK JACKET.