Download PDF Summer of ཱྀ Todd Strasser Books
Download As PDF : Summer of ཱྀ Todd Strasser Books
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?
Download PDF Summer of ཱྀ Todd Strasser Books
"The confusion of the era is evident in Strasser’s newest novel about a young man who has lots of self-examination to do. It is set in Long Island during the Vietnam War, and all of the requisite and renowned events and side effects of the times are included in this book: Woodstock, the walk on the moon, drugs, the draft, free love, family relationships and a sub-culture of hippies are just a few. The protagonist, Lucas, is sometimes likable and sometimes not so likable. When his college acceptance letter arrives, he discovers that he is wait listed which kicks his draft status to a new level. When his girlfriend goes north to be a camp counselor for the summer, he realizes that he faces another type of loss, not as serious as the potential for a lost life in Vietnam, but devastating, nonetheless, the loss of the girl he loves. One of his closest friends, Chris, writes regularly from Vietnam, and Strasser salt and peppers these communications throughout the book to remind us of the horrors of that war and what Lucas will face if drafted. Drugs, lots of them, help Lucas to cope yet alienate his girlfriend. He is his own worst enemy, caught up in a period of American history that pits mainstream culture against a generation of war protestors. The main conflict lies in the attempts by Lucas to avoid the draft, and these are both pitiful and painful for the reader to witness. A surprise ending will definitely please readers who like to be surprised, for they will not see this while reading. On the other hand, the drug-selling friend, the mentally disturbed cousin, the MIT genius and the rich girl hippie who lives with the restrictions of parental control yet practices freedom in all other aspects are interesting, yet stereotypical. The paradox? In real life, some of these characters actually existed. Readers will have to determine for themselves whether or not this latest creation is one of Strasser’s best. Must Read Literature: K thru YA gives this book a very good rating. Martha Squaresky, reviewer."
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Summer of ཱྀ Todd Strasser Books Reviews :
Summer of ཱྀ Todd Strasser Books Reviews
- I generously received a copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions in this review are my own. 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.
- The confusion of the era is evident in Strasser’s newest novel about a young man who has lots of self-examination to do. It is set in Long Island during the Vietnam War, and all of the requisite and renowned events and side effects of the times are included in this book Woodstock, the walk on the moon, drugs, the draft, free love, family relationships and a sub-culture of hippies are just a few. The protagonist, Lucas, is sometimes likable and sometimes not so likable. When his college acceptance letter arrives, he discovers that he is wait listed which kicks his draft status to a new level. When his girlfriend goes north to be a camp counselor for the summer, he realizes that he faces another type of loss, not as serious as the potential for a lost life in Vietnam, but devastating, nonetheless, the loss of the girl he loves. One of his closest friends, Chris, writes regularly from Vietnam, and Strasser salt and peppers these communications throughout the book to remind us of the horrors of that war and what Lucas will face if drafted. Drugs, lots of them, help Lucas to cope yet alienate his girlfriend. He is his own worst enemy, caught up in a period of American history that pits mainstream culture against a generation of war protestors. The main conflict lies in the attempts by Lucas to avoid the draft, and these are both pitiful and painful for the reader to witness. A surprise ending will definitely please readers who like to be surprised, for they will not see this while reading. On the other hand, the drug-selling friend, the mentally disturbed cousin, the MIT genius and the rich girl hippie who lives with the restrictions of parental control yet practices freedom in all other aspects are interesting, yet stereotypical. The paradox? In real life, some of these characters actually existed. Readers will have to determine for themselves whether or not this latest creation is one of Strasser’s best. Must Read Literature K thru YA gives this book a very good rating. Martha Squaresky, reviewer.
- 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.
