"The counterculture has its sacraments in sex, drugs, and rock." A 1969 Life Magazine article was the first to coin the iconic phrase, which perfectly describes the contents of Todd Strasser's semi-autobiographical YA novel Summer of '69. Following 18 year old Lucas Baker during that illustrious summer, this book explores young love, drug use, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and finding one's way in a rapidly changing world.
Lucas's lady love Robin has just left for her summer job as a camp counselor in Canada, and he doesn't know how they are ever going to survive a summer apart from each other. To make matters worse, he has been rejected by all of the colleges he applied to, which means that the Selective Service is going to be knocking at his door. All he really wants to do is while away the summer doing psychedelic drugs and dreaming about Robin, but now he has to figure out a way to dodge the draft too. It's an exciting time to be alive - word is that man is going to walk on the moon, and unbeknownst to everyone, a little concert in Bethel, New York is going to make history. Travel back in time to the 60s with Lucas and get a taste of what it was like to be young and alive during one of the most notorious eras in history.
There is no doubt that the 60s were a fascinating time period, which makes Strasser's semi-autobiographical account of the year 1969 all the more alluring. Most of the details in his book are based on factual events, making this novel feel authentic and genuine. It also takes some of the shine off of the 60s, as the main character Lucas spends much of the novel in a drug-induced haze, looking for ways to escape the Vietnam War. It was these draft-dodging attempts that I found most fascinating about this book, as I previously knew little about the many avenues people took to avoid the war.
While not a whole lot happens in Summer of '69, it provides readers a glimpse into the life of a hippie and gives them a feel for what it was like to come of age in one of the most infamous times in modern history.
Availability: eBook in Hoopla Rating: *** Stars (I liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Summer of '69
GENRE: Coming of Age Stories; Historical Fiction THEME: Life After High School (Surviving high school is only half the battle. The older teens in these stories grapple with the complicated emotions that accompany the transition from high school to whatever comes next); Trouble at Home ("How are things at home?" is a loaded question for the characters in these books as they face serious family problems, struggle with tough situations, or shoulder heavy responsibilities.) TONE: Bittersweet; Melancholy
CHARACTER: Flawed
LOCATION: Long Island, New York TIME PERIOD: 1960s SUBJECT: Automobile Travel; Divorce; Draft; Drug Culture; Eighteen-Year-Old Men; Marijuana; Motorcycle Gangs; Psychedelic Experience; Psychotropic Drugs; Recreational Drugs; Summer Employment; Teenage Boy/Girl Relations; Teenage Boys; Teenagers; Vietnam War; Woodstock Festival
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