The Summer of '69 was a tumultuous one for the Levin family. Kate and her mother, Exalta, are trying to carry on as if nothing is wrong, but it is. The only son in the family, Tiger, is off fighting in the war and nothing but his safety matters to Kate. Kirby left Nantucket to work the summer on Martha's Vineyard. Blair is stuck in the city, pregnant with twins, and not sure she chose to marry the right brother. And Jessie is a young teen struggling with being on the brink of womanhood. The Summer of '69 is tumultuous for the rest of the country, too. Not only is the war dividing the country, but the civil rights movement is at its peak and racial tensions are still high. Will the Levin family and the rest of the country make it through that tumultuous summer?
The Summer of '69 was Elin Hilderbrand's first attempt at a historical novel and she did a great job. I was born in the mid-seventies, but it is still strange to think about 1969 as being "historical." As we are on the fiftieth anniversary of that summer, a lot of it is in the news again. The Levin family is kind of a hot mess. One might even say they are dysfunctional. Kate has a drinking issue, Exalta comes across as anti-semitic, Blair's fairly new marriage is a mess, and the whole world seems to be melting down. There are a lot of historical points of reference, too. Like the moon landing, Woodstock, Teddy Kennedy's accident, and more. It was almost like finding Easter eggs with each one mentioned. Summer of '69 ended exactly the same way as all of the other Elin Hilderbrand novels, with the summer ending and people moving on with their lives.
Bottom Line - I wasn't sure what to expect from Elin Hilderbrand's first historical novel, but I really did enjoy it. The writing was familiar, but the historical details of that summer were sharp and accurate. Overall, a great read!
Details:
- Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
- On Instagram
- Pages: 432
- Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
- Publication Date: 6/18/19
- Buy it Here!
- Thank you, NetGalley for the free book in exchange for a review!
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