Summer of '79 by Elin Hillderbrand

       So I want to start off by saying that this story is a sequel to Elin's wonderful book The Summer of '69.   You have to read that one first.  This is just a short story/novella that lets you know what happened to those beloved characters 10 years after the end of the story.

I absolutely LOVED the Summer of '69.   I wasn't alive then, but it was fun to reflect on what life was like then.  The characters were so real and vivid, not to mention that there was just so much going on historically.   I enjoyed every second.  You can about every single character - the grandmother, Exalta,  the mother, Kate, oldest sibling, Tiger, oldest girl, Blair, middle wild child, Kirby and the youngest, Jessie.   I didn't want Summer of 69 to end so I was absolutely thrilled to know that there was so much more to the story.

As i said, I wasn't alive for the summer of 69, but I was for 79.  I was almost ten.  I remember everything in this book and it brought back so much nostalgia.  I mean, remember the macrame everything?  My mother even had macrame plant holders for goodness sake.  The playlist mentioned in the book was wonderful.  I could hear the songs in my head.  Just life.  It brought so much back - all good things.  Plus,  I finally felt like all the characters were on a course that I could see them living happily ever after.  Who doesn't love a happy ending?   Five stars