Incense and Peppermints…
Who cares what games we choose? Little to win, but nothin’ to lose.

Peace demonstrations, sit-ins, burning of the U.S. flag, following the escalation of the Vietnam War are leading to a catalyst known as the Sixties. A music revolution, flower power, hippies, and drugs are carrying – young and old – into a new decade. All the while Mary Monroe is caught between being an innocent good girl and an autumn of riotous parties filled with drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

Mary takes a walk on the wild side after her brother offers a solution to her nerdy dilemma in the form of a little pill. Plunged into popularity and a life she’s only imagined, she meets Michael Covington, the hot newcomer. She’s instantly drawn in by his less than flawless exterior and bad boy sex appeal. Caught up in the excitement and flirting with danger, Mary follows her new crush into a world where girls are never truly safe from predators lurking in the shadows, and where young men are hiding from the harsh reality of war.

With the war and her fear threatening to separate Mary and Michael forever, only the death of a friend, a crushing confession, and her own sensibilities can carry her over the threshold of adolescence and into adulthood.

Today’s Book of The Day is sponsored by this week’s Kids’ eBook of The Week:

“Southpaw Sully is irresistible. It’s funny, smart, and ultimately wise—about baseball and about life.“—Mick Cochrane, author of THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES, a Booklist Top 10 Sports Book for Youth

Sully, fourteen, is determined to learn how to pitch as a right-hand amputee. Struggling to adjust to life after the accident that took his own hand and his twin brother’s life, Sully seeks to realize the big dream he and his bro once shared: to bring home a first-ever championship for their town in an annual baseball tournament.

As Sully leads his team on an exciting Cinderella run in the tourney, a bully from a rival team will stop at nothing to ensure there’s no fairytale ending. When a distressing situation unfolds, Sully must choose between the game he loves and being there for his family.