Before smartphones, streaming, and endless noise, there was summer—real summer. The kind that smelled like cut grass and creek water, where kids ruled the neighborhood and every sunset felt like the start of an adventure.
In The Kids on the Hill, Jason McIlrath takes readers back to small-town Indiana in the 1970s and 80s, where childhood was wild, unfiltered, and unforgettable. Through laughter, scraped knees, and heartbreak, this coming-of-age memoir captures what it meant to grow up before the world got complicated.
From tree forts and first crushes to the bittersweet moment of leaving the only home he’d ever known, Jason’s story is both deeply personal and universally relatable. It’s a love letter to a time, a place, and the people who shaped him—especially his sister Jennifer, the rival, confidant, and compass at the center of it all.
If you remember riding bikes until the streetlights came on, if you’ve ever wished you could revisit the world as it once was, The Kids on the Hill will take you there—and remind you that growing up never really ends.
Soft Cover-$19.99 Written by Jason McIlrath