I really enjoyed this book and the author’s ability to bring me into the '60's without handing out the same old canned psychedelic drugs and crazy clothes. As the story unfolds, it is a very sweet coming of age journey which happens to take place near the Haight-Ashbury district of the early 1960's as it blossoms from a working middle-class San Francisco neighborhood into the hot-bed of hippie culture, which fades almost as quickly as a high school crush. The real discovery here for readers is that the characters typify the 1960’s in a way that feels real. The older generation with its 1950’s traditional values and expectations within society’s norms, women just beginning to see the power of education and equal rights in the workplace (and the bedroom), the emergence of folk rock music, 1960’s politics and the Civil Rights Movement and assassinations, the conflict in Vietnam as it looms over the young men and women in the story who must consider its impact as they make their first adult decisions in life, and our narrator who finds herself in the middle of it – too young to experience everything but too old not to want to try. And of course, how can she resist the free love of a beautiful hippie?!

The book is well-written and the setting of San Francisco is fully explored with the detail of a local eye which gives the reader a feel for the city that is authentic and leaves an imprint in the mind. The themes and content are mature and the language complexity is a good UG level. It’s a great high and I would recommend it for YA readers age 14 and over. I would also recommend this book to any adult longing for an innocent trip back in time. It was a fun trip for me! ( )

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I have to admit-- this wasn't exactly what I expected. I had myself psyched out about this book, because I thought that there was no way it could end on a good note. Thankfully, I was wrong, and it ended on a fairly good note. But for some reason, I had it in my head that when Joni met Martin-- well, I figured Martin wasn't as hippie as we'd like to think. Turns out that he was, though. Which was nice, because I was afraid that this was going to be a novel of abuse.

And it wasn't, so that was great.

I thought that it was realistic. What must it have been like in the summer of love? LSD is everywhere-- and who would want to do that? (Seriously, if LSD makes you retreat into your mind, I won't be having none. My mind is a scary place without that, thank you very much.) Pot is everywhere too-- and it's talked about in this book. Drug references/use, check.

I think that my only problem with My Beautiful Hippie was that Martin holds all the cards on Joni. He's a straight-up hippie, meaning he's traveling, etc. And all she wants is for him to stay, ultimately winding up with her being hurt by him.

And Joni was pretty cool, so that just sucked.

Joni was actually one of the high-points of this book-- she had a rocking personality. She's rebellious, she tie-dyes her own clothes, and well, she was just a cool main character for a book like this. She made a good flower child-- and I liked most of the secondary characters too. Most notable, Pete rocked. He's such a nice guy. Unfortunately, there's just not much for me to say about My Beautiful Hippie.

All in all, I enjoyed this "blast from the past", but it wasn't particularly for me, you know? ( )