#SummerBeachRead~~Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand
Synopsis:
Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed, in New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand’s first historical novel
Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century. It’s 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother’s historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same: Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby, caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests and determined to be independent, takes a summer job on Martha’s Vineyard. Only-son Tiger is an infantry soldier, recently deployed to Vietnam. Thirteen-year-old Jessie suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother and her worried mother, each of them hiding a troubling secret. As the summer heats up, Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family experience their own dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country.
In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel.
Christina’s 4.5 Blush Review
In pure Elin Hilderbrand style, Summer of ‘69 brings a historical twist on your favorite Nantucket summer beach read. In her first venture in the historical fiction genre, Hilderbrand takes us back in time to the summer of the moon launch, the Chappaquiddick incident and Woodstock. The fashion, the food, the culture, the music, it’s all there. Using song titles from ‘69 as each chapter title, we are transported to a time when pregnant mommies smoked cigarettes and drank scotch to ward off morning sickness! Having grown up in the 80s and 90s myself, this time period is a world I’ve only experienced in the movies. And that’s exactly how this novel reads. The descriptions and details are so vivid and captivating like scenes from a movie we love to watch over and over again.
The characters in the novel are rich and the plot is delicious in its unfurling. If you’re wondering about Hilderband’s Nantucket in the sixties, you won’t be disappointed. Everything we love about Nantucket and it’s culture are ever present throughout the book which is peppered with references to the ways of 1969. Born of Hilderbrand’s own personal birth story (read the author’s note at the end!) and nurtured with interesting characters and an engrossing storyline, Summer of ‘69 needs a place in your summer beach tote for sure!
