Purple Daze

May 9, 2011
Shahan's (Death Mountain) novel in verse is packed with the experiences and emotions of six suburban Los Angeles high school students during the tumultuous year of 1965, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War draft, political assassinations, racism, the advent of LSD and Napalm, and rock 'n' roll. More than anything it's a story of innocence lost: Nancy unhappily works in a diner after her boyfriend Phil is drafted; Cheryl is attacked by her "sex pervert" neighbor, and her relationship with Don is on the rocks; and Ziggy runs wild with sex and drugs after her boyfriend, Mickey, joins the Navy ("Think I'll drop out and enlist./ It'd be a blast to blow stuff up"). Telling her story largely through the characters' journal entries, notes, and letters, Shahan also offers interludes about period events, speeches, and culture, further contextualizing the setting and helping illuminate each teen's circumstances and their shared feelings of abandonment, resentment, and betrayal. Shahan's writing pulls no punches as she offers a poignant mosaic that functions on personal and universal levels. Ages 14âup.

May 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-This novel-in-verse features snapshots of the turbulence of 1965 as caught in both a wide angle and telephoto lens. It not only follows the lives of several southern California teenagers through the young folks' own poetry, journal entries, and letters, but it also focuses on the bigger picture: Vietnam, Civil Rights, Malcolm X, LSD, pot, war protest, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and feminism. History lessons in third-person prose are sprinkled throughout the more human scale of poetry depicting teen musings and angst, but no segment fills more than a page, making the book perfect for short attention spans. From the three dating couples who populate and pen the poems, some central characters emerge. Ziggy, the easy chick who sleeps with her boyfriend, Mickey, barely survives his absence when he joins the Navy. Cheryl won't put out for her stateside guy, Don, and is actually the perfect wartime pen pal for the other two military teens: Mickey aboard the USS Hermitage and especially Phil, who is drafted to soldier in Nam and whose letters will evoke sympathy. Infidelity, abortion, friendship, grief, personal growth, and forgiveness are just some of the issues involved. While the poetry is neither particularly lyrical nor deft, it does manage to communicate story. Reluctant readers may be the best audience to enjoy this fast ride through the period.-Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

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