What was nice about this novel for me is that I was close in age to one of the main characters, Jessie, during the summer of 1969. At first I wrote THE main character, but I think that's because I was reading it from the perspective of a girl on the cusp of being a teen during that time. Unlike Jessie, I was the oldest in my family with just one younger sibling. That just meant that some of the things that Jessie's family experienced during that summer were things I observed in other families, but not my own.
This novel touches upon Vietnam, Woodstock, the walk on the moon, women's liberation, Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne, anti-semitism and probably some other issues that I can't remember right now. It's important to note that these are issues that are merely touched upon. They are the backdrop of the story which I believe was Hilderbrand's intention. Reviews by readers older than I am have stated that lots in this novel isn't historically correct. that they remember things differently. I was too young to have strong recollections but the feeling of 1969 is definitely evoked. I'll state it again in different words. This is just a novel about a family going through some tough times during the summer of 1969.
While I did enjoy reading this, I was disappointed by the ending. It just sort of ended, leaving too much up in the air. But that didn't diminish the escape I got while reading this. Elin Hilderbrand, if you're reading this, a short epilogue would have sufficed.
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