The Summer of 69, Todd Strasser
The Summer of 69, Todd Strasser
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The Summer of '69

Author: Todd Strasser

Narrator: Graham Halstead

Unabridged: 10 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11/19/2019

Synopsis

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?

About Todd Strasser

Todd Strasser is the internationally bestselling author of numerous books for children and teens, most notably the classics The Wave and Give a Boy a Gun, which are taught in classrooms around the world. While many of his novels are based on or inspired by events in his own life, Fallout — his 100th original novel — is an especially personal story. “We were indeed the only ones in the neighborhood with a bomb shelter,” he says. “This novel can be read as a memoir, both of what happened during that time and of what I feared would happen.” Todd Strasser lives in New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lana on July 13, 2019

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 violenc......more

Goodreads review by sofka on July 31, 2024

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 humo......more

Goodreads review by Marshall on November 19, 2018

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 autobiograp......more

Goodreads review by Deb (Readerbuzz) on June 02, 2023

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 h......more

Goodreads review by Britt on April 28, 2019

*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 alik......more

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