A THOUSAND STEPS by T. Jefferson Parker

 

A Thousand Steps is a beguiling thriller, an incisive coming-of-age story, and a vivid portrait of a turbulent time and place by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker.

Laguna Beach, California, 1968. The Age of Aquarius is in full swing. Timothy Leary is a rock star. LSD is God. Folks from all over are flocking to Laguna, seeking peace, love, and enlightenment.

Matt Anthony is just trying get by.

Matt is sixteen, broke, and never sure where his next meal is coming from. Mom’s a stoner, his deadbeat dad is a no-show, his brother’s fighting in Nam . . . and his big sister Jazz has just gone missing. The cops figure she’s just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love, but Matt doesn’t believe it. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach.

All Matt really wants to do is get his driver’s license and ask out the girl he’s been crushing on since fourth grade, yet it’s up to him to find his sister. But in a town where the cops don’t trust the hippies and the hippies don’t trust the cops, uncovering what’s really happened to Jazz is going to force him to grow up fast.

If it’s not already too late.

MY THOUGHTS

This is my first book by this author. I will be looking for more. This one was very good. 

This story is set in 1968. During the Viet Nam war and the hippie explosion. It's a typical California town but not such a typical family. The Anthony's are one messed up family. The mother a drug addict and the dad a deserter. A deserter to his family. He left for a better life several years prior. Another woman was involved too. The Anthony children are basically left to fend for themselves. The oldest boy is in the Army and stationed in Viet Nam. The daughter, Jasmine, seems to be a good girl but she disappears without a trace. The youngest boy, Matt, is a level headed young man who is beside himself with worry over his sister's disappearance. He will stop at nothing to find her. He also works hard. He has a newspaper delivery route and does other odd jobs to make money. I really liked and felt for Matt. He has a heart of gold and the will power of a saint. 

This story will have you guessing what happened to Jasmine. Who or what took her. Did she leave on her own or did something horrible happen to her. At the beginning you read about another young girl, teenager, who's body was found so you wonder if the same will happen again. This story is about young love also. Though it's partly in the background you will root for Matt to find true love. Though he is only sixteen he is such a smart and resilient kid. He has several runs with the worst luck possible but never gives up. He is just a very likable kid.

I did not like either parent and thought they should be ashamed of themselves for how they treated their children. Not that either beat them but neglect was rampant.  It was like the mother, Julie, didn't care if they had food or did their homework or anything. She stayed in her room most of the time smoking weed or worse. She did not seem to care about anyone but herself. The dad was just as bad if not worse in many ways. He had just left and didn't help out in any way. But when he did finally come back to help Matt look for Jasmine, the things or way he talked to me was quite silly for a grown man. He thought he was so much smarter than anyone else and was a bit condescending to Matt. And he even enticed Matt to drink alcohol. What kind of dad does that to a sixteen year old who already has the weight of the world on his shoulders? I just didn't like either parent. 

I did like this book though. It's well written with just a few mistakes that I could easily overlook. It held my interest from page one and all was wrapped up by the end. Not a rushed ending either. This book makes you feel as if you are back in that time period. From the cop who rides around to just bust the hippies. The protestors of the war. The drug use. The way people talk. It takes you back for sure. If you are old enough that is. 

Thank you #NetGalley, #TJeffersonParker, #Macmillan-TorForge for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5/5 stars from me. I recommend you read this one. It's really very good and in lots of ways a fun read. Edge of your seat in places too.