Nostalgia Road

A Young Adult Novel - Summer, 1963: Elvis still reigned, the Beach Boys sang of fun-in-the-California-sun, carhops roller-skated to automobiles to take orders, and drive-in movies ruled. With her archaeological parents on a dig in Columbia, thirteen-year-old Jo Thompson travels from Brooklyn to spend the summer at her aunt's farm in Minnesota. The pastoral setting lends itself to lazy days filled with riding horses, spending time with her cousins, and falling in love with the cute neighbor boy who gives her a first kiss. It's a summer to treasure and remember. Summer, 1965: Two years later, times have changed. A president has been assassinated, civil rights movements have become violent, and the Viet Nam war has escalated. After her parents' death in a car accident, Jo returns to the once-idyllic Minnesota farm. Times have changed there too. The horses are still there, one cousin is in serious trouble, and Luke has a steady girlfriend. Jo's emotions are wildly scattered. When Luke befriends her, Jo realizes she is still drawn to him. Suddenly, she has some very adult decisions to make-decisions that will define who she is and what kind of a young woman she'll become.