"Summer Of '69" by Elin Hilderbrand - Historical Fiction Book Club - Past Titles

About the Author: Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is an American author known for her popular novels, often set in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Here is a brief biography of Elin Hilderbrand:

Full Name: Elin Hilderbrand Birth Date: July 17, 1969 Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Elin Hilderbrand grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and spent summers on Cape Cod, which later became the inspiration for many of her novels. She attended Johns Hopkins University, where she majored in English and minored in Writing.

After completing her education, Elin worked in the corporate world in New York City, but her love for writing persisted. Her debut novel, "The Beach Club," was published in 2000, marking the beginning of her successful career as a novelist. Since then, she has become a prolific and bestselling author, known for her engaging storytelling and novels that often explore family dynamics, relationships, and life in Nantucket.

Many of Elin Hilderbrand's novels are set against the backdrop of picturesque beach towns, capturing the essence of summer living. Some of her notable works include "Summerland," "The Identicals," and the "Winter Street" series.

Her writing is characterized by a keen understanding of human relationships, a focus on family drama, and a skillful depiction of coastal settings. Elin's books are widely popular for being perfect beach reads, offering a mix of drama, romance, and a strong sense of place.

Synopsis

Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of the '60s summer when everything changed in Elin Hilderbrand's #1 New York Times bestselling historical novel. Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century. It's 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same: Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby, caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests and determined to be independent, takes a summer job on Martha's Vineyard. Only-son Tiger is an infantry soldier, recently deployed to Vietnam. And thirteen-year-old Jessie suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother and her worried mother, while each of them hides a troubling secret. As the summer heats up, Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family experience their own dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country. In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel.

Historical Timeline

June 28: The Stonewall riots in New York City mark a significant event in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. While not in Massachusetts, this event has national implications.
July 14-20: Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the Moon, takes place. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface on July 20.
July 18-20: The Chappaquiddick incident occurs on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Senator Edward Kennedy is involved in a car accident that results in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
July 25-27: The Woodstock Festival takes place in Bethel, New York. While not in Massachusetts, this iconic music festival is a significant cultural event of the summer of 1969.
August 15-18: The 1969 Hurricane Camille hits the Gulf Coast but causes significant rainfall and flooding in Massachusetts.
August 28: The music festival known as the Boston Tea Party takes place at Fenway Park in Boston. It features performances by popular bands of the time.
August 15-18: The Worcester Pop Festival, a music festival, takes place in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Ongoing: The Vietnam War is ongoing, and anti-war protests and demonstrations are taking place across the United States, including Massachusetts.
Throughout the Summer: The counterculture movement, characterized by its rejection of mainstream values, is influential during this period. This is reflected in various cultural and social aspects of the time.
General Atmosphere: The summer of 1969 was a time of cultural and social upheaval, with significant events shaping the political and cultural landscape. The moon landing, Woodstock, and the Chappaquiddick incident are just a few examples of the diverse and impactful events that occurred during this period.

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In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
Call Number: Fiction Blume
In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place--Nat King Cole singing "Unforgettable," Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on. In the Unlikely Event is vintage Judy Blume, with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume's unparalleled storytelling, and full of memorable characters who cope with loss, remember the good times and, finally, wonder at the joy that keeps them going.
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Call Number: FICTION Hannah
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Call Number: FICTION Henry
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Call Number: FICTION Kidd
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Call Number: FICTION Smiley
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Call Number: FICTION White
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