Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: the Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty
Grade 5-9 This novel focuses on events from Christmas 1967 through  May 1968, a time of war in Vietnam and unrest in the United  States. Molly's brother, Patrick, is serving in the area of Khe  Sanh, a region that is receiving high-intensity shelling, and  the 15-year-old contends with the duality of emotions occasioned  by pride and concern for him and by her daily exposure to  antiwar feelings. She observes how heated people can be about  the war, one way or the other, but no one seems to bother to  know the details; she wants to learn everything she possibly can  about it. Volunteering in the VA hospital over the objections of  her parents, she witnesses the frustration and anger of the  seriously injured vets and the death of one of them. The story  is rich in detail about the period: hippies; demonstrations; the  assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy;  the lure of the coffeehouses, thrift shops, and bookstores of  Harvard Square; and always the fate of the Boston Red Sox. Molly  is an engaging protagonist with her own issues, and her  questioning mind seeks honest answers. Average-quality,  captioned black-and-white historical photos appear with the back  matter. This title will be popular where readers seek out "Dear  America" and similar series, and it complements American history  studies. -Sylvia V. Meisner, Greensboro Montessori School, NCCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.