Teen Tuesday: Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick

Image: Macmillan

Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick. 304 p. Feiwel & Friends/ Macmillan, September, 2013. 9781250025647. (Own).

Happy Tuesday TMS Readers! Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of The Woodstock Music Festival, which occurred on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York August 15 through 18, 1969. An estimated 400,000 people attended this outdoor event. Teen Tuesday features Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick. 

Fifteen-year-old Rich Barber jumps at the chance to play his guitar at a protest rally even though his overly strict and overly protective parents wouldn't approve. What could go wrong? He gets busted in a raid along with his father and the two spend the night in jail. Of course, he's grounded for life. It also doesn't help that the anniversary of his uncle's death is coming up. He never met his uncle, but his dad becomes terribly depressed around the anniversary. 

But Rich is furious. He breaks into his father's locked cabinet and decides to play his dad's most prized possession. Jimi Hendrix's guitar. When he strikes that iconic chord, Rich finds himself dropped naked in the middle of a road in upstate New York where he is nearly hit by a car. Who's in the car? His fifteen-year-old father, eighteen-year-old uncle and his uncle's girlfriend and they are trying to get to the Woodstock Music Festival. 

Rich is a musician and student of Rock and Roll. He cannot believe he's actually at Woodstock! He knows the line-up of all the musicians and what they are going to play. Unfortunately, he also knows what's going to happen to his uncle in the near-1969-future. 

If you're a Sonnenblick fan, you already know about his signature combo of humor and depth and you will enjoy this YA offering. If you're a student of Rock and Roll history, you should definitely check this out. Sonnenblick vividly recreates the weekend.