h0llyrose's review
1.0
2.5 stars. Nothing too special but I loved reading about this time period. Wish I would've gotten more of a feeling for the characters.
jessi_quinn's review
4.0
The unique style in which this book was written really helps to create vivid characters who are going through a really hard time in their lives. It is a great peice of work, and I highly reccommend it to anyone and everyone.
createassemblage's review
3.0
A story of the year 1965 told from the view point of 6 high school friends in free verse and poetry style. The relationships were difficult to discern at times. I thought that there was much hidden in the writing that would not be obvious to the target audience. Quick read.
shewantsthediction's review
2.0
First of all, I actually read an ARC of this book my friend bought me years ago. So it's possible there were some changes made to the final book. In any case, I understood what it was trying to do: relay some history of the Vietnam War through the uber-casual perspective of six teens (who are all friends), so as to be relatable to a YA audience. While I loved the concept, the writing was poor and it was hard to tell the characters apart, mostly because they all spoke the same way. "Don tickles my tonsils" and "sleeping with uncertain synapses" are two phrases I could stand to never read again, as well as "bitchin," which is used liberally.
The poems about historical events pack on details, until they no longer read like poems but newspaper clippings. Sometimes even the kids' poems were confusing and it was hard to know what was even going on. The book also deals with some pretty serious topics: the draft, drugs and alcoholism, sex, abortion, feminism, dropping out. Unfortunately, I can't say that any of them were really dealt with in a satisfying way. By the end of the story, it feels like nothing is resolved and just ends abruptly. There's also a cheating/love triangle plot that had me rolling my eyes. And Mick's racism is never corrected/addressed?!
The poems about historical events pack on details, until they no longer read like poems but newspaper clippings. Sometimes even the kids' poems were confusing and it was hard to know what was even going on. The book also deals with some pretty serious topics: the draft, drugs and alcoholism, sex, abortion, feminism, dropping out. Unfortunately, I can't say that any of them were really dealt with in a satisfying way. By the end of the story, it feels like nothing is resolved and just ends abruptly. There's also a cheating/love triangle plot that had me rolling my eyes. And Mick's racism is never corrected/addressed?!
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