From Publishers Weekly
Bittersweet and intensely moving, this novel is a prequel of sorts to Qualey's debut, Everybody's Daughter. The first section centers on Maud, who in the summer of 1969 learns that her sister Lucy, an anti-war activist and fugitive, has just killed herself while bombing a physics lab at the University of Minnesota. Meanwhile, in another part of the state, straight-arrow Jeff-narrator of the second section-earns the ill-will of citizens of his tiny, conservative hometown by organizing peaceful anti-war protests. In one of the few forced moments in this deeply felt novel, Jeff's beloved older brother, a Marine on his second tour of duty, is killed in Vietnam the very same week that Maud's sister dies in the laboratory bombing. Less than a year later Maud and Jeff meet and almost immediately establish a meaningful connection. The evolution of their relationship, and the events that lead Maud and Jeffrey to join the commune Woodlands (a focal point of Everybody's Daughter), fuel the two remaining sections. Told with a quiet forcefulness, the story of these two memorable characters conveys the passionate urgency that marked a turbulent era. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 8-12-Jeff and Maud, both 17, are living through the Vietnam War era. The year is 1969; the setting is Minnesota. Both teenagers have lost a sibling: Jeff's brother, a Marine, is killed in action; Maud's sister, a war protestor, disappears underground and is blown-up in a bombing on a Minnesota campus. Both Jeff and Maud retreat into themselves until a demonstration against the war brings them together. Their search for love, security, and meaning takes them to parties flowing with drugs and alcohol, more demonstrations, and eventually to communal living. This is a poignant story of two young people finding love during turbulent times. They are well-developed characters who have a real sense of what the Vietnam War has done to the country. Controversy between family and friends over U.S. involvement is accurately portrayed. Qualey's novel is fast-paced, well written, and appealing, and concludes with a strong sense of love and hope.
Judy R. Johnston, Auburn High School, WACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
