Anthem by Deborah Wiles is the third volume in the author’s trilogy about the 1960s. In the first she covered the Cuban Missile Crisis along with our fear of being taken out by the A-Bomb and/or Communists. The second book dealt with Civil Rights Movement and the Freedom Summer of 1964. This last volume sees her turn to attention to Vietnam.

It is the summer of 1969 and fourteen year old Molly and her cousin, Norman are dispatched by their mothers to cross the country in a school bus and find Mollys brother in San Francisco. He left home after fighting with his father over their very different feelings about the war but now, the draft board is looking for him and the plan is to bring him home and then decide what to do about the draft. Molly’s seventeen year old cousin, Norman, is being sent along with her. Norman is a budding musician and he decides he will go but there must be certain route changes to enable him to visit a number of recording studios and music venues and, as luck would have it they manage to meet the Allman Brothers as well as Elvis Presley.

The author envelopes her road trip story in the music of the 1960s and effortlessly captures the spirit of this troubled time. Both of the main characters absorb many life lessons and mature along the way and even though I had accept some unbelievable events, this was a fun story that brought back memories of my own youth. Anthem is well-researched and made a wonderful closing to this historical fiction series that shone a light on the social, political and cultural aspects of the this decade. ( )

A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, but can be read as a standalone too. It's 1969 and 14 year old Molly is on an old school bus, driven by her 17 year old cousin Norman, crossing the country from South Carolina to California, searching for her brother, whom she hopes to convince to come home before he leaves for the draft. He left home a year ago after a fight with their father, and Molly has been suffering emotionally ever since. Along the way, she and Norman will meet a series of famous and yet-to-be-famous musicians, and have many adventures--visiting a commune among them.

I loved seeing cameos by characters from the earlier two books, in which we get to know them 5 and 7 years later, as older teens and in a different stage of their lives. (Just one example: Ray, the African-American boy from book two, shows up now as a soldier.) This book also does not have the biographical sketches that the first two did; instead, there are many real-life historical figures from the music scene of 1969 written in as people who interact with the main characters, which was cool. The teens stop by a series of famous recording studios and meet The Allman Brothers Band and even Elvis Presley among others. But there were still several sections of quotes and black and white photographs from the era to set the scene, and this time each chapter is headed by a different song from the late sixties. I've never stopped reading a book at every chapter before, but for this one I would put down the book at each new chapter and go online to listen to the song before continuing to read, which was fun! I'd really thought I knew a lot about the music of the era but there were a few whose names I didn't recognize until I heard the music, or that I did not know at all, so I learned a few new songs. A good fun "road trip" novel to hand to teens, that will show them America in an important time of our history. ( )

Anthem by Deborah Wiles is the final book in the 1960s trilogy that began with Countdown and then Revolution. These novels rise above because you can tell how much time Ms. Wiles spent gathering massive amounts of information and then disseminating the feelings, facts, and emotions in a compelling manner.

It's 1969--the Vietnam War rages and people are divided over supporting it. This novel journeys from one coast to the other. The other novels have a clear plot; this one has a thin plot of Molly and Norman getting on a bus to go get Molly's brother in San Francisco who has received his draft notice to go to Vietnam. The novel is really about America--the people: who they are, the choices that make and their reasons, and Molly and Norman's growth from innocence to experience/youth to adulthood/naivety to knowledge.

The novel begins as the others do with primary sources to "place" you in the 1960s. College students hold protests for free speech. People shame soldiers for going to Vietnam. People show pride to serve their country. Science makes advances as America races to walk on the Moon first. Vietnam buckles under war. Vietnamese people are victims of Communist onslaught. Citizens express anger at the government for hiding information about the war. Malcolm X , John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King are all assassinated. Riots occur over race relations. Athletes protest treatment of blacks. Unions request better conditions and pay. Anti-establishment music soars. Gays and lesbians request equal treatment. LBJ, the President of the United States chooses not to seek re-election in order to focus on Presidential duties. Peace sign flash from hands. Women demand equal rights under the law.

Molly's brother, Barry left a year ago. His draft notice arrives and he has a physical in less than a month. Her father, who never makes an appearance, had a family-splitting argument with Barry, ending with Barry walking away. He supports the war; Barry does not. Molly's mother asks Molly, who is fourteen years old (!), to drive to California and bring her brother home. Cousin Norman will drive the school bus Barry left him. Norman and Molly's mothers are products of the time period. Both women desire more for women but are trapped in their own ways due to the time period. They are expanding their world; in fact, they took Norman and Molly on the Appalachian Trail the summer before. According to Norman and Molly, they took care of their mothers. They gained confidence in their abilities and the mothers know they can get to California and back.

On the journey, Molly (aka Eleanor Rigby) and Norman (Florsheim) meet the people of America. They meet famous musicians, which does stretch the limits of one's "suspension of disbelief." It's implausible to meet this many famous musicians. Yes, they even meet Elvis. With each chapter, you also meet the music. Each chapter begins with the name of a song. The playlist is on Deborah's Wiles' website--on Anthem's dedicated page (which should have been mentioned at the beginning of the novel instead of the end--just saying....). I highly recommend listening before each chapter--it further immerses you in the 60s. They also meet hippies--the workers and the posers. They promise to help those in need. If they see someone they determine is in need, that person is invited on the bus and taken to a destination. They meet peace advocates. They meet Vietnam vets. They experience the people of a commune. They meet a gay couple. They meet a Vietnam vet with PTSD. They see love. They see hate. The music, however, encapsulates the journey. As one character says, "Music reminds us of the journey, of where we came from and it even shows us where we're going. You'll see." By the end of the novel, you see the changes in Molly and Norman. As the reader, you journey through 1960s America and its music and see where the US has been and where it's going, learning about people as you go.

When they finally arrive in San Francisco, they acknowledge the truth about what family is. They know themselves, each other, and what they are capable of accomplishing. They see America and they sing America. There is no judgement or opinion. It's a look at America without telling what to think of it. They return home wiser, more loving, more understanding of all people and their opinions. They learn to listen to everyone and find themselves and their own opinion without condemning another. It's beautiful. One of the sages of the book tells Molly, "Music is the rhythm of our humanity. It's the soundtrack of struggle and peace, birth and death, love and war, joy and pain. Music is the heart you open and the family you choose." Choose this book. Read the trilogy. Immerse yourself in the 1960s and take your own journey to knowledge. Ms. Wiles also wrote Kent State, a verse novel about the deaths of those students. Also read about the Pentagon Papers, Most Dangerous by Sheinkin. These are important. Start your journey now. ( )

Molly’s beloved brother Barry receives a draft notice in the mail but Barry has been away for a year and no one knows where he is, other than San Francisco. He will be arrested if he doesn’t report so Molly’s mother and Aunt Pam send her and cousin Norman in the school bus to find him and bring him back. Along the way, they meet famous musicians, hippies, pick up hitchhikers and stay at a commune.Very atmospheric historical fiction, so evocative of the time. Nicely captures the 60s vibe.

History is imparted through the people the cousins meet and through dialogue, although at times it felt a little bit contrived. Not a deal breaker though. We are on the journey with Norman and Molly; teen readers will learn with them. ( )