Nicholas Rogers

' “God damn the man who shot President Kennedy!” Robbie Doyle said out loud without thinking. The class turned as one and stared at Robbie. Miss Rodgers actually dropped the book she was holding. '

It seems that an entire generation can recall what they were doing when they heard about Kennedy's assassination, but Robbie's response drew me to read on. The sheer absurdity of being sent to the principal by the teacher, the conversations and the people Robbie met that day, created an show more illusion that I was there, watching and listening to real people. This uncanny immersion continued as the story progressed, and news headlines entwined with Robbie's private life. I cannot say that I liked everything I read – the hatred during the civil rights demonstrations, Robbie's friend almost raped – but the bad things did not spoil the story. It has dark moments in a rich canvas with many bright episodes.

Alas, Robbie's high-school days passed too soon. I wished I could continue reading about his amazing friendship with Nick and Sam, his crush on Christie, his struggles to become “someone” in high-school. But in the summer of 1967, normalcy was increasingly overshadowed by the danger of being drafted and sent to Vietnam.

I rarely read about wars, but at this point, I was immersed in Robbie's life and had to know the rest of his story. It was worth reading, even the gory descriptions that I normally skip (there are a few, but they are powerful). I had to read it all, the beautiful and heartwarming along with the horrifying and the ugly, because the entire story is larger than each part. It is much more than a piece of life combined with social commentary. To me, the story seemed to beat like a heart. show less

Every once in a while I get a free book on Amazon and it turns out to be something special this was one of those novels. This book took be back to the time of my youth. I did graduate high school in 67 with the draft notice hanging over my head and into the Army I went. Brought back many memories and a tear to my eye at the end. Wrote as I was there with the three young people and many memories of my youth. If you are from the Viet Nam era read this great book. You will remember how it was. show more Great story and great writing. Thanks for the memories. show less

Interesting historical review, but when covering recent history spends too much time on politics and not enough on how Halloween became an adult party night for straight people. (There is good coverage on how it became a gay party night, though.)

Rogers covers a wide range of ideas related to the dark holiday, particularly given the book's length. It also helps that he writes well, so you breeze easily through even some of the more fact-and-figure intensive sections. Interesting, informative, and a great October read.

The book addresses the origins of Halloween, its history in Britain and North America, its similarities to Mexico's "Day of the Dead," urban legends and popular reactions to the holiday, its representation in Hollywood, show more current celebration trends, and some guesses about the holiday's future. show less