Molly and Norman’s story is fascinating in its own right, and their journey shows us a great picture of the U.S. This isn’t a great book merely because of the format, though. Before we read the first word of Molly and Norman’s story on page 55, we feel like we’ve been immersed in the summer of 1969 and the unrest that covered much of the country. The photos, while not as spread out as the previous books, do a great job of recreating the time period for readers. Then the rest of that section is prose, with some chapters being narrated in third person and a few in first person. Anthem is made up of five parts, and each new one starts with a string of photos. Each book uses these elements in slightly different ways, though. Even a chance to hear Molly’s favorite band, The Association, plays a pivotal role in Molly’s development on their journey.Īs with the previous books in the 60s Trilogy, Anthem again incorporates photos and quotes from the summer of 1969 into the story. The two cousins hear the Allman Brothers play a concert in an Atlanta park, meet The Swampers studio band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and encounter many other musicians on their trip. Norman is a drummer, and his one condition for agreeing to the trip is that they can make music-related stops along the way. It’s a trip that will change both of their lives forever.Īnthem is built around music with each chapter titled after a song from that era that relates to the events of the chapter. As they journey across the country they learn a lot about America and a lot about themselves. With no other way to reach him, Molly and her cousin Norman set out on a trip from South Carolina to San Francisco in Norman’s old school bus. But now Barry has received a draft notice, and he only has a few weeks to report. Before the book begins, her brother Barry got in a big fight with their father about the war in Vietnam and left home and moved to California. The main character is a girl named Molly. The wait was worth it.Īnthem is set in the summer of 1969. Finally, five years later, the last book in the trilogy, Anthem, has been published. As she had in Countdown, the first book in her 60s Trilogy, Wiles incorporated photos, quotes, short biographies, and many other text types to go with her powerful story of two kids, Sunny and Raymond, one white and one black, growing up in Mississippi during Freedom Summer. Support independent bookstores, and my classroom library, by purchasing this book through .Ģ014, Deborah Wiles’ Revolution was a National Book Award finalist.

Anthem by deborah wiles