Summer of '69

by Todd Strasser

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?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, New Adult, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Summer

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2019

About the author

Todd Strasser is an American author of more than 130 novels for adults, young-adults, and middle graders.

His most recent novel is Summer of '69

Booklist review: "Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, those hallmarks of the summer of 1969, are all here, but there's so much more. In this loosely autobiographical novel, Strasser introduces 18-year-old Lucas, who is bright and sensitive but also a screw up…. The picture painted of the Woodstock music festival shows the dark side of peace and love, and the prevalence of drugs is on almost every page…The best part of the book, however, is the one that transcends eras: Lucas' introspection as he contemplates his place in the world."

Kirkus review: "Strasser perfectly captures the golden haze of youth and life on the cusp of adulthood. Readers fascinated with this time period will find much to enjoy... Vietnam, Woodstock, road trips, and acid trips: a sweetly bittersweet, surprising, even melancholy bildungsroman set against a world in flux. Groovy, man."

His most recent young adult novel is Price of Duty:
2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
“Compact and suspenseful, the novel raises important questions about war.” – Kirkus 
“This thought-provoking book is both welcome and imperative.” – Booklist * (starred review).
"Rather than attempting to sway the reader, it offers awareness." - VOYA 
“Tightly wound and compelling ... appropriate for an older middle school and high school audience. VERDICT: Highly recommended.” – School Library Journal 

Bio: Todd was born in New York City. When he was young his parents moved to Roslyn Heights, New York (Long Island). Todd went to the I.U. Willets Elementary school and then attended the Wheatley School for junior high and high school. His best subjects were math and science. He also liked to read, but he had trouble with spelling and grammar, and didn't do well in English. His favorite sports were tennis, skiing and fishing. Todd went to college at New York University for a few years, and then dropped out. He lived on a commune, then lived in Europe where he was a street musician.

All the while, Todd wrote songs and poems and lots of letters to his friends back home. Finally he decided to try being a writer. He returned to the United States and went to Beloit College where he studied literature and writing.

After college, Todd worked at the Middletown Times Herald-Record newspaper in Middletown, New York, and later at Compton Advertising in New York City. In 1978, Todd sold his first novel, Angel Dust Blues. He used the money to start the Dr. Wing Tip Shoo fortune cookie company. For the next 12 years, Todd sold more fortune cookies than books.

Todd now divides his time between writing books and speaking at schools and conferences. When he's at home, he likes to spend time with his children and dog, Cooper. He still likes to play tennis and ski, but his favorite new sport is surfing.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A little more than a week ago, I was a high school student and my biggest problems were scoring good dope and finding places where my girlfriend and I could have undisturbed sex. Suddenly I'm in very real danger of perishing in a war I am wholeheartedly opposed to - How did I let this happen?" -- protagonist Lucas Baker, on page 35

Author Strasser draws on some of his own late adolescent experiences and family history (so does that make this book historical fiction or pseudo-biography?) with his Summer of '69. For a work classified as YA (and shelved in the teen section of my local library) it is an uncommonly serious in tone and subject matter, with plot threads concerning the harshness of the Vietnam Conflict, use of narcotics, and relationship issues. Eighteen year-old Lucas relates his experiences from that notable season - except for some occasional forays into third-person / omniscient narration, which I did not think worked as well - and it comes across like a well-written journal by a maturing young man.

Middle-class Long Island resident Lucas has just graduated from high school, is unsure if he will be accepted to college, and has just received a draft notice. But wait - there's more! His always-tenuous home life - which includes a distant, philandering businessman father; a reserved, poker-faced stay-at-home mother; and a quiet younger brother (who would appear to be, by current standards) on the autism spectrum - seems to be quickly unraveling right in front of him. Then his longtime girlfriend decides she wants a break in their dating life (while far away working at a Canadian summer camp), and his best friend decides to manufacture acid for sale at an upcoming three-day concert featuring a myriad of acts (*cough* Woodstock). A former co-worker/friend, now serving in an infantry unit in Vietnam, also keeps in pen-pal contact with Lucas and details how horrible the situation is for he and fellow servicemen. I won't say something stereotypical like 'this is just the tip of the iceberg,' but there are even more plot angles I have not even mentioned here. Suffice to say author Strasser has crafted a gem of an interesting and involving story - with some comedy, some tragedy and a fair amount of plausibility right down the middle of it - that doesn't fall prey to easy nostalgia overload, and features a distinct cast of characters who display some hidden and surprising depths.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wild ride of a Summer of ‘69, for sure! This was a fast paced, part autobiographical account of this crazy summer. Lucas is 18, and has just found out he didn’t get accepted to the college of his choice and is now faced with possibly getting drafted to Vietnam. This story contains violence, sex and lots of drug use, but feels like an accurate description of the time. Lucas also experiences Woodstock in the story which was awesome. I’d highly recommend this historical fiction, just not too sure I’d suggest it for YA.
Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for this ARC!

[Ilona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Summer of '69 by Todd Strasser. I've read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Summer of '69 is a story about Lucas who has just graduaded high school, said good-bye to his girlfriend who's leaving for camp and has been rejected by a college which results in a very high chance that he'll be drafted for the Vietnam war. The story details how Lucas tries to find a way to not get drafted for the war, while dealing with feelings about the war, his relationship and his future. In order to surpress his feelings about all of this, he takes different kind of drugs.

Summer of '69 is partly based on the real life of the author which made for an interesting read. I was drawn to the aspects of the character's fear about being drafted for the Vietnam war and the circumstances in that period. Unfortunately, apart from the drafting storyline, the story didn't resonate with me. I felt that the shift between first person and third person was annoying at times, even though it showed the difference between sober Lucas and Lucas on drugs. I couldn't really connect to any of the characters which resulted in me not connecting to the story.

I do think that this story might be more appealing to people who know more about the Vietnam war and perhaps the repercussions it's had on people. Being from Europe, I've only read about the Vietnam war in History class in high school, so it's interesting to learn more about it in this way. But apart from that I couldn't connect to it that deeply.

I recommend this book if you want to read a story that takes place in the sixties and deals with Woodstock, all types of drugs, the Vietnam war and the fear of being drafted for a war you don't believe in.

[sofka · Rating 4 out of 5]

He shook his head. I don't know what threw me more: that Alan had no idea who Mick Jagger and crew were, or that someone as talented and famous as Brian Jones would so carelessly throw it all away when so many guys in Nam were spending each day desperately trying to stay alive.

Liked the bits of humour that were thrown in the story to dilute the overall sad situation everyone was going through at some point; glad I picked it up, honestly.

[Marshall Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just finished the ARC (Thanks, Candlewick!) last night around 1 am. This is a page-turner for sure. Not sure it's really YA material, but what a ride. I guess I should say, what a trip since that's what the main character Lucas spends a lot of time doing. The author says it's mostly autobiographical and it does indeed feel that way. I have to admit that one thing that kept me going was not being able to guess where the story was headed. But I guess that's the point. That summer the author didn't now where he was headed either. I wasn't alive then, but even if I was, this is a world I don't think I would have ventured into. A real eye opener as to what young people were up to back then.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Baker spends the summer of '69 in limbo. His college applications have been rejected and he is a prime candidate for the draft. His girlfriend has headed off to Canada for the summer and he is left alone and tempted by the mysterious Tinsley. Lucas' primary response to his troubles is to get high, and even that won't help if his girlfriend leaves him for good and he is sent off to fight in Vietnam.

Summer of '69 is a close look at the '60s from the point-of-view of a young affluent nascent hippie. Think: sex, drugs, and rock-'n-roll, and you will have a pretty clear picture of this story. Strasser tells us that the book is a thinly disguised memoir, and that is probably one of the strengths of the book.

[Sam Bough · Rating 5 out of 5]

first there was Cheech an d Chong, then Dazed and Confused, Dude, where's my car, the big Lebowski, Seth Rogan ... and now, introducing Sir Lucas Baker of the Round Table(t) lol!

[Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I got this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Anyone who knows me knows that I adore history, and that the 1950s and 1960s are my favorite era to study. While I wholeheartedly understand that the era was certainly not the best for minorities — women, PoC, and LGBT+ folks alike — I love the pop culture, which *definitely* influences my interest. So, needless to say, I was SUPER excited when I stumbled across this book on NetGalley, and even more so when I got approved to read it! It sounded right up my alley.
That being said, this book was rather... disappointing. The era was cool, and the atmosphere/imagery of the Summer of ‘69 was pretty on point, as far as I can tell (coming from a 20 year old who studies the era, but never actually lived it), but the writing itself was not that great. There were also formatting issues, but I’m going to hope that was just NetGalley screwing up, at no fault of the author.
The writing, though, as I said, wasn’t great. It was pretty choppy sentence and structure wise, there was a lot of telling instead of showing, and there was this... really weird thing where the POV would continuously switch from first person to third? I *think* it was meant to be a stylistic thing, meant for while the main character was high or tripping, but it didn’t work very well. Instead of coming off as a clever plot device, it read as very choppy and awkward instead.
And, while the imagery itself was pretty cool, nothing much really... happened, plot-wise? The book walks us through the summer of 1969, and we follow the main character, Lucas, as he tries to avoid being drafted and faces long distance drama with his girlfriend, but in the end everything wrapped up a little *too* perfectly, and the whole ordeal ended up being almost pointless. There was also somewhat of a summer fling type love triangle, but one side of the triangle kinda ends up just... disappearing from the plot, with not much resolution.
I will say that this book does do a pretty good job of exploring the Vietnam War from an antiwar perspective, and my favorite thing to read about were definitely the different music and hippie festivals that Lucas goes to. It’s a shame that the rest of the book didn’t follow that same decent consistency, because I have a feeling I would have liked it a lot more if it were more like that. It definitely captures the *spirit* of 1969, I just... wish there was more to it.
Overall, perhaps if the formatting weren’t such an issue, and the writing was a bit better, this book would be perfect for the right audience. Summer of ‘69 is supposed to be based around the author’s own experiences, so I definitely think there are people out there who would enjoy the plot that, admittedly, was more simplistic than I was hoping for. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t a huge fan, but I do think it has overall potential and I would definitely still recommend checking it out if you’re interested in the 1960s antiwar era!

[Coley Nielsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a big lover of history, and think the revolutionary time that was the 60s-70s is an incredible point in America's political history. With that being said, I really struggled to get through this book, and had to force myself to finish it. It felt as though the author so badly wanted to write a book about the sixties that every word, action, and moment had to be suffocated with 60s stereotypes to the point that the story itself was lost. Even as I was roughly 85% of the way through, it really didn't feel like there was any plot at all and absolutely no purpose behind the story being told, and instead was just the author trying to relive his youth. The only redeeming part of the book that made it so I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 was within the last few pages where the character of his father is slightly redeemed. Overall, I would not recommend this book.

[Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

* Got this ARC in exhange for a honest review by Netgalley*
DNF 16%
It sounded interesting when i read about what the book was about. But as i started it, at first Lucas, he main character seemed like a lovesick complaining puppy, then as i went further in he ended up as a pot-smoking wierdo? Needy and apperaently can't be a man himself? Because he let Tinsley do those things, and think those sexual things. But it dosen't matter? because his girlfriend are miles away in Canada...? He was mixed between an annoying weed-smooking needy guy to a lovesick puppy and i just could'nt invest further to see if he managed to get into college or not. I even had slight problems detecting the time-line where this was written. Maybe this is just me, because i've seen it get high praise. But, i just could not last.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.9

If that 70's show was a book:

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Facts: Historical fiction, Coming-of-age story
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The Feel: Nostalgic, Melancholy, Funny, Informative
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The Focus: 18-year old Lucas comes of age on Long Island in the summer of '69, amidst the Vietnam War, the rise of the counterculture and the... chemical revolution.
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Yay:
✌️ Nostalgia: Woodstock, magic buses, reefer madness, the music, the fashion, the long, shaggy hair. This book made me wish that I'd lived through the 60s and 70s even more than I already did.
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✌️ Characters: I really grew to love Lucas and his friends. They were incredibly flawed, but also relatable and loveable in their own way. I miss them already.
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✌️ Politics: I've always been interested in the history and politics of the time, but I learned a lot. The book described the Vietnam War in almost brutal detail, discussing the role of privilege (it was almost always poor minority kids on the front lines) and draft exemptions. All of it was loosely based on Strasser's real life.
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Nay:
✌️ Switching Narrative Perspectives: The book flipped from first person to third person several times and I hated it! I guess it was to keep things feeling, you know... psychedelic and a little bit off, but it just took me out of the story.
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✌️ Rushed Ending: The story was compelling the whole way through, but it all wrapped up quickly and neatly. I wanted a little more time and a lot more grit.
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Read if you like:
✌️ That 70s Show
✌️ Almost Famous
✌️ The Road to Woodstock

Quote: "How is it possible that I've wound up with a best friend who's a materialistic bourgeois capitalist anachronism disguised as a longhair? Sometimes I think that if we weren't best friends since childhood, we wouldn't be friends now."
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's really a 4-star book, but Summer of '69 made me nostalgic for a time period I didn't even live through. I loved every minute of it so I'm giving it five stars!

[Jypsy]

I've never had a doubt that I was born during the wrong time period. I missed Woodstock by about 20 years, and that's so sad. I knew Summer of 69 would be a perfect read for me. Ah, the music. Ask my 10 year old who Hendrix, Joplin and CCR are, and he can tell you...lol. I loved the entire experience of this story. It's so atmospherically engrossing that I felt like I was there. The drugs are present but relevant, so I wasn't bothered by that. The Vietnam War and the draft had to have been terrifying. It's a time of great change and revolutionary thinking, and I respect these people who really believed in something and fought for it. They didn't pose for Facebook and Instagram for attention with no actual convictions. This generation actually felt deeply for various things and pushed back against the system. It's amazing, and this story just brought it home to me. I loved it! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Allison Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good considering it’s not typically the kind of book I read. The descriptions and comparisons the author uses are amazing. I was able to clearly picture every scene in this book.

[Jenn G · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more Woodstock and less angst. It took me a while to get into it because of the way the chapters are divided, the narration kept changing.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not overly well written, but wow what a story and to know that alot of it actually happened, if not to the author but to people he knew first hand was really cool. What a time.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is different than any YA book I've read. This is a semi-autobiographical account of the author's youth which is likely why the book genuinely feels so lates 60s- early 70's. Everything from the slang, to the descriptions of clothing, hair, cars, and home furnishing leads to completely immersive experience as the reader. Since this is marked as a YA novel, I think that this will be a great reading experience for teenagers of today. You can see how EVERYTHING as changed in good and bad ways since that time. Now with it being marketed as YA I want to emphasis that depicted with the novel are sex, war and other violence, and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. This is certainly outside of my experience with the YA genre. However it works here because the book is so honest and true to that era. The story takes place mostly within that summer of 1969. Lucas didn't do so well in school and finds out that he wasn't accepted to the college of his choice and now the draft is staring him in the face. His girlfriend went away for the summer and things may have been souring in their relationship leaving Lucas confused and heartbroken. (Never was the era more obvious- there was no cell in phone in sight for him to call Robin. When he did make calls it was from a landline with ridiculous charges) . He gets letters from his friend who is fighting in the war and reads first hand how dire the situation is for the soldiers there and he can't imagine fighting for a war he actively objects to morally. A lot changes over the course of this book, over the course of that summer. I enjoyed this book and I'm really glad to have read it. This book told me more about the Vietnam war then anything I've read before (which wasn't much). I also enjoyed the mentions of different musicians from the era and references to other things from that time. I especially enjoyed the scenes where Lucas went to what would later be called Woodstock. We've all seen the pictures but the story describes a bit about what else was going on there. I certainly recommend this book. I'm glad Todd Strasser finally decided to write down his story.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got my Advance Reading Copy from a giveaway on LibraryThing.

It took me a little while to get into this book. Thinking of it as "memoir" at first I really disliked the main character. Spoiled rich white boy from New York City trying to dodge the draft, getting stoned, and not getting the grades to get into college. Not much interest there. I stepped back though and read the back of the book and revised my thinking. It's not "memoir". It's "historical fiction". With the mindset of "historical fiction" of course the main character is a little too heroic to be believed. "Tinsley" is not a real person. She may have been a conglomerate of several women or she may never have existed at all. The author notes in the back of the book that a trip he took to Canada and his trip to Woodstock were with different women. So this book IS fiction. However it gives us an insight to what was going on in Middle Class America in the summer of '69 as far as Viet Nam goes and Woodstock and the beginnings of the hippies in New York City.

Lucas didn't win me over, even in the end. My copy of the book had typos that may never be caught before this book goes to press (There's a Cat in Hat reference that got messed up). There's no sense wondering what happened to "Alan", "Chris", "Milton" or anyone else because the book is fiction. Todd is trying to tell a love story here between Lucas and Robin maybe, but I don't buy the "happily ever after ending" that he gave them.

My mother is the same age as the writer. She grew up in Western Mass. She missed Woodstock because there was some other smaller music festival happening that weekend maybe? Or maybe she just had other places to be. The hippies from New York came to Western MA and Vermont though and my mom was part of that scene. This book gives me a little insight on how it all got started.

[Isaiah Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Summer of '69, by Todd Strasser, is a young adult historical fiction novel set in the late 1960s United States. Lucas, the main protagonist, graduates high school, ready to have an awesome summer with his friends and girlfriend, Robin. However, he doesn't get accepted into college, so he's in threat of being drafted to Vietnam to fight in a war he doesn't agree with. Furthermore, Robin travels to Canada, leaving him with Tinsley, an attractive free-spirit, who threatens Lucas's loyalty to his S.O. His family life isn't perfect either. He has a brother who's developmentally behind, a mom who's very depressed, and a sleazy father who practices suspicious business tactics. The main theme of this story is that changing over time causes growth and maturity. The outside forces of the story cause Lucas to have an internal conflict with himself. Making him wonder if he can handle these life obstacles. His actions to deal and cope with these problems hooked me as the reader, wanting to learn what happens next. The main external conflict is being drafted to Vietnam. Lucas has to face the government so he doesn't have to die in war. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars because of the excellent elaboration and transitions. It can be slow and uninteresting in some parts. However, Todd Strasser clearly did his research on the 60s and the events that took place. This book does have sexual and drug references so please read with caution. Read this book to experience the changing decade of the 60s.

[Sandra Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA, or for anyone that was a youth in the summer of '69, sex, drugs(lots of drugs) and rock n' roll
I don't know if this is a book for everyone, but I certainly hit a cord for me, because I lived through this time period. I couldn't relate to parts of it, as I was never into the drug scene, however the thoughts that ran through Lucas head were certainly thoughts that I had at that time: why are we in the Vietnam war, why are all those young people dying for nothing, why is my family so screwed up?
This book is fiction, but somewhat a memoir of Todd Strasser's summer of 69. He has graduated from HS, staring the draft in the face, doing his best to be an underachiever, wondering about his crazy family dynamics, and commenting in a black comic way about life at that moment in history.
What I came away with is that you always have a chance to change, how you perceive events are colored by so many emotions and perspectives, and people will always surprise you.
"Every writer you've ever heard of
Was at one time a writer,
You'd never heard of". - Lucas
"But what if sometimes there is no one to blame, because no one is at fault?
Sometimes things happen that will never be resolved or settled, and the best you can do is just get on with it and make your own peace. " - Lucas
" Guess there are two ways to look at the examples our parents set.
You can learn from them what to do, or you can learn what not to do." -Lucas

[Mrs. Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas’ plans for the summer are simple: hang out with friends, smoke some weed and take some pills along the way. His plans go off track when he finds out that he did not get into college. He is now at risk of being drafted and sent to the Vietnam Conflict. Also, his girlfriend is spending time in Canada and his friend Tinsley wants to practice her free love by temping Lucas to cheat on Robin. If his life wasn’t crazy enough it looks like his parents might be getting a divorce and his friend in Vietnam is in constant danger. What will Lucas do to avoid ‘Nam? What else will life throw at him?

The Summer of ’69 is a coming of age story inspired by the author’s own time in this iconic era. The drugs are abundant and the choices are less than noble, but the story will be appealing to readers of all ages. Since this is the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, some young readers may see articles and shows that talk about the events, yet this story will help them understand what was going through many young people’s minds in the months and weeks leading up to the festival. Strasser has based his characters and events on his own life and stories he heard from friends and this makes this book just a little bit more appealing.

[Nkisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley from Candlewick Press publisher*
This book was wrote to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival which the author attended. The author has done such a brilliant job of capturing a place and time in history I felt as though I was there myself. The book centre’s around the life of a young hippie named Lucas who has just come of age and is facing the difficult question what he should do with the rest of his life. He is living in a society of great social divide due to the political issues caused by the war in Vietnam. All through out the book we feel the impending doom that Lucas feels about the possibility of being forced to join a war that he is against which is a very important element of the story. We also get to experience through Lucas how causal drug use was at that time and how glamourized the idea of free love has become because of that fateful Woodstock festival in 69. Through Lucas’s journey I learnt so much about a period of history that I didn’t really know about and enjoyed the story in general. I strongly recommend to those who are looking to read something a little bit different.

[Bishop T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough o receive a free advance copy of Summer of 69. I am writing this review not ten minutes after finishing the book. I had a hard time putting it down. I especially liked the way he wrote about the drug use in the book. not only was it accurate in the experience, but he rode the fine line of neither outright glorifying nor condemning it, but rather portraying it as it really is used and how it was for Lucas - an escape.

As someone who did not live through that era, but loves a lot of the music and some of the culture from that time, the book was a perfect fit. But my favorite thing about it was that it was not a nostalgic glorification, but it showed all aspects of the era and really lent perspective to everything I enjoy about the period. I'm glad he shared his story (and borrowed stories) with the world and with me. I cannot wait to pick up his novel.

[Kim McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

1969 was a time of unrest and for Lucas is was also an awakening. He believes he and his girlfriend Robin will go to college out East, stay high on drugs and each other, and the glorious days of sex, drugs and rock and roll will never end. Except it does end. In the complete upheaval of his summer Robin will leave him, he won't get accepted into college and his draft number will come up. Off to last-minute adventures in a beat up VW bus and motorcycle to Canada and Woodstock where hopefully Lucas will come up with a plan and save his life. This is for older readers but still rings true as a good coming of age story for any decade. I did enjoy his attempts at Haiku. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a number of works by this author and they are almost always good-quality, yeoman-like efforts that appeal especially to the boys and reluctant readers in my library. But I found Summer of ’69 to be something else entirely, a book that is leagues beyond his previous efforts. This is a deeply touching, honest, sometimes sad, often very funny account of his life during the year 1969. It will certainly appeal to his usual readers, but to many others as well. The historical angle is eye-opening, and the struggle to grow up and mature very real. I wouldn’t say the book is a masterpiece, but I would say that it is Strasser’s masterpiece.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

This semi-autobiographical, fictionalized story is an intimate peek into what life was like for author Todd Strasser during the Summer of 1969. It is unlike anything previously written for young adults that I have read on this topic.

The 100 days of the Summer of 1969 brought incredible changes to life as Americans knew it. The amazing music, albums, musicians, festivals and concerts – Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles with Get Back and The Who with Tommy. Culturally shocking movies such as "Midnight Cowboy" and "Easy Rider". Judge Warren E. Burger was appointed Supreme Court Justice by Nixon. The Stonewall Riots. The Kennedy / Chappaquiddick mess. Americans first walked on the Moon. Woodstock. The Manson Murders. The Mets win the World Series. Needless to say, it was a tumultuous time.

Each headline event, however, was overshadowed by the continued conflict in Vietnam. Americans were glued to their TV sets as they watched war correspondents report on deaths in the field, show body bags being loaded onto the U.S. transports headed back to the United States, and protests against the war held across America. Americans read photo-journal magazines like Life, which featured a cover story of 217 Americans killed in Vietnam in one week that summer alone. The average age of an infantryman in Vietnam was 22. Most Americans today are informed about the Summer of '69 from mainstream periodicals, Hollywood films, and non-fiction books written about it, not from the inside...by someone who lived during it.

Strasser throws windows wide open to a different point of view of this time period, in this story about Lucas Baker, a young man who is upper middle-class, white, a high school graduate, eligible for the Draft, who believes in counterculture values (and all that entails) and whose course of life is changed during these 100 days. With one foot in adolescence and the other reaching out into adulthood, he finds life is a delicate balance.

Lucas dearly loves his younger brother Alan and respects his mother, yet despises the way his father treats his family. It doesn’t help the relationship that he is a disappointment to his “paterfamilia”. While this summer should be a dream, it is turning into a nightmare. His girlfriend Robin heads to Canada for the summer, sending him a “Dear John” breakup letter. His friend from work, Chris, writes letters to him about the horrors he is experiencing in Vietnam and his fear of being killed. Lucas receives a double whammy first when he is not admitted to college, then when he receives his draft report date notification. He seeks advice from a counselor to avoid the draft, receiving suggestions of several ways to game the system. He learns his father is cheating on his mother, and that they may be divorcing. As an escape from these and his other problems and frustrations, Lucas often hangs with his friends and gets high on weed, hash, LSD, or whatever drug is available. After the “roller coaster ride” of summer, Lucas comes out a stronger person, with a solid forward direction in mind.

Lucas is a flawed character, experiencing both teenage insecurities and many strong adult emotions for the first time – fear, disappointment, heartbreak, anger, loss. While Lucas is really a deep, smart kid, he does plenty of thoughtless things (including not considering the consequences of his actions) and makes poor choices on impulse. His parents have only given him part of his family’s story throughout his life, so when his cousin Barry fills him in on “the rest of the story”, Lucas gains an insight into the family’s dynamics and views them both through new eyes. Lucas is astounded at the sacrifice his father makes for him. He grows both emotionally and intellectually through the summer, showing strength of character in the process. It is interesting that Strasser has chosen to switch points of view for Lucas when writing this story; he uses first and third person to clue readers into times Lucas is high and times he is not.

Other characters in the story support and help the reader to understand Lucas. As a result, they don’t grow in the same way he does – and that’s okay. They serve to add detail as to why Lucas does what he does, whether it is when chumming around with his best friends Arno and Milton, trying to resist the sexual advances of “good time girl” Tinsley, hanging out with his cousin Barry, or conversing with former co-worker and soldier Chris or girlfriend Robin. Inclusion of correspondence to/from Chris and Robin keep them right in the middle of Lucas’ story and help break up the text. Strasser has chosen to use a different set of names for characters in the book as he mashes several events of people he knew into events for his smaller cast of characters - which keeps the story flowing and characters easier to track. (Strasser includes a short author’s note revealing some of the mash-ups, separating some of the fact from the fiction.)

The language in the dialogue is often course and strong – which is not unusual for teenage boys who may associate course language as part of being a grown-up. Strong language and Tinsley’s promiscuity make this appropriate for older young adult readers, ages 16-24.

While this was not my personal experience during this time period (I was more like Robin – more of a straight arrow), Strasser’s story rings with a truth that expands one’s understanding of the counterculture at the time. Thank you for baring your soul in this one. I am sure it was difficult to write in places.

Highly Recommended for ages 16-up.

[Emma]

thank you published for this e-arc!
However, i DNF'd the book because i just could get into it. The plot, characters, decade wasn't for me. I believe if i was in a different point in my life, i might have enjoyed the book, but in this case, i will not finish it.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was very almost famous, daisy jones and the six, dazed and confused, and everybody wants some!!

[Lafourche Parish Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

"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

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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

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this author's previous books, starting with The Wave and Give a Boy a Gun. He always seems to have his finger on the pulse of current events and hot-button topics. You know the ones--those certain to spark controversy because there are so many perspectives to them and some folks don't feel comfortable having their values and beliefs challenged. But for readers who like to think, his books offer some easy access points. His most recent novel, focused on the Summer of 1969, is his most personal yet. Drawing loosely from his own teen years, Strasser recaptures that particular time period, right down to the all-important music, the drugs, the clothing, the war in Vietnam, and various music festivals, including Woodstock. His protagonist, eighteen-year-old Lucas Baker, is about as lost as a young man can be. His girlfriend Robin is in Canada working as a camp counselor for the summer. They didn't part on particularly good terms after a less than successful drug-fueled road trip in his VW van. Lucas spends the summer worrying about her and noticing the fractures in his parents' marriage even while hanging out with his friends and getting high. When he is wait listed for college, he is in grave danger of being drafted to serve in Vietnam. There's a place he has no wish to go, especially after reading the letters from his friend Chris is serving over there. Between writing desperate letters to Robin in an attempt to salvage their relationship, trying to find a way to avoid being drafted, and being attracted to Tinsley, a free-spirited young woman he meets through his cousin Barry, Lucas tries hard to change. But will it be enough and is is soon enough? The author includes vivid descriptions of those crazy times when individuals were vilified for their hair length, clothing choice, and stance on the war. By slipping memories from Lucas's earlier years among his present experiences, the author allows readers to develop some understanding of and empathy for his character, something that would have been impossible had he merely showed him as he was at 18. His seething anger toward his father might be justified, but the end of the book might just soften readers' impressions of the man. While nothing can possibly capture what it was like to be there in 1969, this book comes close. In some ways it's yet another privileged white boy's story--but with a twist.