Sonnenblick, Jordan. Are You Experienced? New York, Feiwel and Friends, 2013.

Time travel, Woodstock, family dysfunction, and a likable narrator combine to create a fascinating new read from one of my favorites - Jordan Sonnennblick. The story belongs to Rich. He loves music. He kind of loves his girlfriend. He does not love the extremely overprotective environment that his parents have created for him. After a particularly difficult encounter with his dad that results from him sneaking out to play at a protest rally, Rich attempts to bridge the gap between them at his mother's urging, but his dad simply refuses to talk about his anger or the loss of his older brother Michael from years ago. A frustrated Rich breaches his dangers privacy, discovers a guitar that may have belonged to Jimi Hendrix, and plays a chord that lands him smack in the middle of Woodstock, with his dad as a teenage boy and the uncle he's never met.

What ensues is a kind of a romp through Woodstock. The drugs and the free spirit of the attendees are fairly honestly explored, making this more appropriate for the mature reader, but Sonnenblick deftly avoids anything overtly graphic; one of the reasons I respect and appreciate him so much as. 7-12 librarian. Rich is a likable kid and the reader is fascinated as he begins to get to know his dad as a teenage boy and learns first hand ,any of the reasons why his dad is the way he is. This parent child dynamic is rarely explored in YA, a genre in which the parents are seldom present in a big way throughout a book. I love the insight for both parents and kids. Historically, the book provides a wealth of information about Woodstock and e culture and music of the 60s. Honestly, at times I was a little overwhelmed at the "instruction" provided by the narrator, but for many of my readers this will go largely unnoticed. Also the "coincidences" felt a bit awkward in the plot for me, but will not to many of my readers.

I love to talk to my kids about Sonnenblick's work, and this one is no exception. Interesting, readable, junior high appropriate male protagonists are easy to sell. Rich is real. Students will relate to his frustrates and struggles, and I hope inspired by the things he learns. Sonnenblick graciously Skyped into an event we were holding in our school, and I loved what he told our boys. In order to be happy, he said, you must find what makes you happy and then figure out how to use that thing to make others happy. I always give that advice when I talk his books, and I love how his books support this message.