'Reds'

by Jack W. Thomas, James Bama (Illustrator)

A cautionary tale of the 60's.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Horror

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1976

Reviews

[Abby Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I first read this when I was a teenager. I found it while rummaging through my older sisters books. Years later I could remember little bits and pieces of it but I wanted to read it again because it had made such a big impression on me when I was young. I found a copy on a used book site a couple years back, so I snagged it and then gave "Reds" a long awaited re-read. I was not disappointed.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! What a trip down memory lane, if nothing else. I give it a solid three or three and a half, were that an option. The first few pages made me chuckle as it was set in a time and place near and dear to my aging heart. The talk. Geez. Some of it I haven't used in forty years, some I still use. One of many words/phrases I used often was "Maintain." "Just maintain." Speaks volumes about paranoia. Anyway river, Reds is the story of a coupla young hippy chicks that hook up with a young naive dude out driving his folks car in the Valley. The chicks talk him into driving them up to San Francisco, up to the Haight. What follows is a scary tale of sex and drugs.(No specific music mentioned to anchor it. Likely because of potential lawsuits.) Reds being the main fuel. I can relate to maybe sixty percent of it, but pretty quickly it climbs up the ladder to totally freaking out. There by the Grace of Ganesh go I. I need a cup of green tea.

[Anita Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in high school for a book report. the amount of drugs and sex in it made quite an impression...one that keeps this book on my mind 40 years later!

the book is about some teens that hook up and end up in the Haight Ashbury area of San Francisco during a time of free love, communes, and drugs.

My memory is hazy on the details, but the one that I will never forget is of the one girl cutting off a guy's penis!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loads of books similar to this - the kind featuring young people in the 60's and 70's. I collect them for their super cool retro appeal - but I also enjoy the manner in which their little stories are told - usually used as a cautionary warning for young people not to get caught up in the wrong crowd, use drugs etc. See "Go Ask Alice."

[Anthony Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! I love Jack Thomas' writing style and the imagery of SoCal in the late '60s/early '70s is great.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in my late teens and couldn't read fast enough..fantastic...so much so it still sticks in my mind 20 years later.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in 8th grade and loved it. Made a big impression on me and influenced my teenage trajectory, good and not so good. Have never seen it since

[Dave Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read when I as a teen. Recently bought a copy and reread. Still a good read.

[Jocelyn]

Read this in 7th grade, early 1970s. Still remember the cover.

[Ooma Indigo N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well…I first saw this book in B Dalton Booksellers in 1974. I was 9 or 10 and was already reading young adult books. Already read plenty of bad girls and other runaways on dope and/or walking the street. Yet…I was too scared to read this book. Ooohhhh…reds!

Now I wished I had bought it in the mid-70’s at 95 cents for the book. I paid over $70 on Etsy from a second hand bookseller. I wanted the nostalgia of my youth and it did not disappoint. Some parts for a little dry which is why a 4 star instead of a 5 star 💫 review. This book was written for high schoolers. It is a thinner book but not a page turner. One had to really read this book.

This is the usual cautionary tale about the dangers or drugs for teenagers. The novel does capture the era of the late 60’s to early 70’s. There are no happy endings. There are veiled allusion of incest/child sexual abuse. That explains Dorcie and why she does what she does.

[KELLY]

I read this book when I was in Junior High School in the late 70s. It stuck in my head as a weird scary depiction of what was in the drug world and innocence destroyed etc. I remember thinking I am not going to get involved in anything like this book tells about. It probably saved me LOL. I want to reread it just for nostalgia as I cannot remember most of it now 45 years later. BUT I never forgot REDS and killers!!!! right?

[BOOK BOOKS]

OBJECTIVELY HORRIFYING LITERATURE WERE YOU RLY INTO AS A TEENIE

I WAS OBSESSED WITH A BOOK I FOUND IN THE FREE BOOK PILE AT THE LIBRARY CALLED "REDS". IT WAS ABOUT TEENIES TAKING DRUGS IN THE 60S I THINK, I CAN BARELY REMEMBER IT NOW.