Teen Tuesday: Anthem by Deborah Wiles

Image: Scholastic

Anthem by Deborah Wiles. Sixties Trilogy #3. 480 p. Scholastic Inc., October, 2019. 9780545106092. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Teen Tuesday features Anthem by Deborah Wiles. Anthem is book three of The Sixties Trilogy. It takes place in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War. Fourteen-year-old Molly's beloved older brother ran away after an explosive fight with their father. Word is, he's in San Francisco; but he has not contacted anyone. Now, his draft notice has arrived and her mother and aunt have concocted a plan to send her and her seventeen-year-old cousin on a cross-country road trip to find him. Molly, who likes order in her life has already mapped out the route. Norman, who summer plans with his yet-to-be-formed band are derailed, has a few stops he wants to make along the way. And what a road trip they have! As with the previous titles in the trilogy, this novel is documentary style. Though the page count weighs in at over 450 pages, many of them are filled with well-captioned photos and newspaper headlines that give readers historical context. Chapters are song names, which include a discography for each, so queue up some of the titles on Spotify and take a groovy road trip!

The point of view shifts between Molly and Norman effectively. The people that they meet along the way are brimming with life as they serve to help Norman gain confidence and upend everything Molly believes in. There are moments of hilarity sprinkled liberally as the reader watches both cousins grow and become socially aware. I did love each book in this trilogy, but this might be my favorite.

Highly recommended!