In episodic chapters, he offers an endearing, straightforward account (with occasional poetry) of his worries about starting junior high, about girls and his own social status, and about the chance that his brother, Gary, could go to Vietnam. This novel is less nuanced and complex than Gary Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars (Clarion, 2007), though the references to drugs, nudity, drinking, and occasional raw language suggest older, reluctant readers.- Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CAĪugust 1969 is a confusing time in the life of Brody Winslow. Sports fans will appreciate the play-by-play football action and Mets references, and music fans might be inspired to look up Joan Baez or Sly and the Family Stone. The narrative can at times seem convenient or didactic, but Brody’s experiences at awkward dances, at football practice, and as buffer between his constantly arguing dad and brother will ring true. Early in the book, Gary takes Brody to Woodstock, where they encounter the traffic, mud, hippies, and drugs later on Gary is arrested at an antiwar vigil in Rochester.

Wallace clearly aims to give young people a means to experience this historic summer through the eyes of a kid also just dealing with adolescence. Frequent references to the music, pop culture, and politics situate readers in the time and place, as the New Jersey teen hangs out at the public pool with his friend Alex, listens to the latest hits on the radio, and tries not to screw up at football practice. August 1969 is a confusing time in the life of Brody Winslow.

War and watermelon by rich wallace