Author: Rob Rufus
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: Revolution by Deborah Wiles
Freedom's Just Another Word by Caroline Stellings
Rating:
 |
| more complex than it initially appears |
Summary (provided by publisher): Dig it.
During the tumultuous year of 1968, four teens are drawn together: Ronnie Bingham, who is grieving his brother’s death in Vietnam; Milo, Ronnie’s bookish best friend; “Ramrod,” a star athlete who is secretly avoiding the draft; and Hana, the new girl, a half-Japanese badass rock-n-roller whose presence doesn’t sit well with their segregated high school.
The four outcasts find sanctuary in “The Vinyl Underground,” a record club where they spin music, joke, debate, and escape the stifling norms of their small southern town. But Ronnie’s eighteenth birthday is looming. Together, they hatch a plan to keep Ronnie from being drafted. But when a horrific act of racial-charged violence rocks the gang to their core, they decide it’s time for an epic act of rebellion.
My opinion: I'm definitely a fan of music as a metaphor for dealing with social change. It's use in a book set during the Vietnam War era is an obvious choice, with so much music of the time being protest music. The plot doesn't take big risks thematically. It talks about racism, anti-draft sentiments, and gender roles. It lays out a pretty simple good and bad dichotomy. If it stopped there it would be pretty forgettable. But Rufus allows for some gray area, points out the fallacy of most absolutes. There's this idea that no one has the right to make decisions on everyone's behalf. Ronnie engages in this big protest and then realizes that's he's hurt people. That while he was morally right he can't claim absolute right. While the general plot treads very familiar ground it takes some unique views. Most of the explorations are fairly simple and conflicts are perhaps too easily resolved, but I'm a fan of anything that opens up a discussion, that asks us to explore our opinions more deeply and this book certainly does that.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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