Recent Reads: Summer of '69 by Todd Stasser

Source: From Librarything Early Reviewers and Candlewick Press. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Summer of '69 by Todd Stasser
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date:  April , 2019

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Rating:






Goodreads Synopsis: 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the remarkable summer that led up to it. Featuring Sir Lucas of the Round Table(t). Astonishingly autobiographical. Remarkably personal. Profoundly irresponsible.

Drawing from his teenage years, Todd Strasser's novel revisits a tumultuous era and takes readers on a psychedelically tinged trip of a lifetime.

With his girlfriend, Robin, away in Canada, eighteen-year-old Lucas Baker's only plans for the summer are to mellow out with his friends, smoke weed, drop a tab or two, and head out in his microbus for a three-day happening called the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. But life veers dramatically off track when he suddenly finds himself in danger of being drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam. If that isn't heavy enough, there's also the free-loving (and undeniably alluring) Tinsley, who seems determined to test Lucas's resolve to stay faithful to Robin; a frighteningly bad trip at a Led Zeppelin concert; a run-in with an angry motorcycle gang; parents who appear headed for a divorce; and a friend on the front lines in 'Nam who's in mortal danger of not making it back. As the pressures grow, it's not long before Lucas finds himself knocked so far down, it's starting to look like up to him. When tuning in, turning on, and dropping out is no longer enough, what else is there?

Review: 
Summer of ’69 was an interesting book, it is young adult historical fiction of sorts and it just wasn’t really my style of book.
The book follows Lucas, a teen who is trying to spend his summer like any normal teen, going to shows, hanging with friends, and just relaxing; but it is the summer of ’69 and the threat of being shipped off to fight in a war he does not believe in is getting to him. 

As far as characters go, Lucas goes through a lot in this book. His girlfriend breaks up with him via snail mail letter, not even a phone call, for another guy, he gets his draft letter and his ‘sorry no thank you’ letters from universities, and now he is trying to cope with it all. On top of all that his parents have some weird separation in the same household things going on too and his life is in shambles. The characters were realistic, and their growth was well thought out, but the overall story just fell flat for me.

While there were some climaxes in the plot, they were short and throughout the story, which meant that there wasn’t a big build up anywhere for the readers (me) to look forward to as something to spur reading. I found the story overall interesting but the motivation to keep reading it was lacking and it was not really my jam. 

I think if you like a male point of view and the hippy vibe that this book pulls, this might be one for you, but it is more of a monologue than a plot driven book.