Are You Experienced? - Softcover

Sonnenblick, Jordan

4.01

834 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1250063043 ISBN 13: 9781250063045

Publisher: Square Fish, 2015

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Rich is fifteen and plays guitar. When his girlfriend asks him to perform at protest rally, he jumps at the chance. Unfortunately, the police show up, and so does Rich's dad. He's in big trouble. Again. To make matters worse, this happens near the anniversary of his uncle's death from a drug overdose years ago. Rich's dad always gets depressed this time of year, but whenever Rich asks questions about his late uncle, his dad shuts down.

Frustrated by his dad's silence, Rich sneaks into his office and breaks into a locked cabinet that holds his dad's prized possession: an electric guitar signed by Jimi Hendrix. Before he knows it, Rich is transported to the side of a road in Upstate New York with a beautiful girl bending over him. It will take him a while to realize it's 1969, he's at Woodstock, and the girl's band of friends includes his fifteen-year-old dad and his uncle, who's still alive. In Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick, what Rich learns, who he meets, and what he does could change his life forever.

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About the Author:

Jordan Sonnenblick's acclaimed teen titles include Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Notes from the Midnight Driver, and After Ever After. He is also the author of the Dodge and Me series. A former middle-school English teacher, he lives with his family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 8-10–October 2014. Rich is a guitar-playing 15-year-old whose parents, former hippies, are strict. When the teen's goth girlfriend talks him into performing at a rally for the legalization of medical marijuana, Rich lies to his father but gets caught when the man shows up at the event. After a blowup and Rich is grounded, he finds the guitar that Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock in 1969 in his father's closet. Rich is suddenly transported back to that time and place. He lands naked in the street and gets hit by a car. The catch? The car is driven by his father's older brother, Michael, who is fated to die from a heroin overdose a couple of weeks later. His uncle's girlfriend convinces Rich to join them on their trip to a music festival: Woodstock. Rich shares the backseat with Michael's hyperactive younger brother, David, who will grow up to become Rich's dad. While the book is humorous at times, the vernacular doesn't quite resonate as realistic. In addition, the teen's antagonistic relationship with his dad feels somewhat forced. While readers may be able to suspend disbelief in regard to the Hendrix guitar, it's curious that the teen doesn't seem overly concerned about returning to his own world. The novel is well researched, but it's unlikely that teens will connect with all the references.–Ryan P. Donovan, New York Public Libraryα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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