In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • For What It's Worth
  • Claire Gross
Tashjian, Janet . For What It's Worth. Holt, 2012. [224p]. ISBN 978-0-8050-9365-0 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 6-8.

The year is 1971, and Quinn, a music-crazy middle-schooler, is living in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, the nexus of the exploding rock-and-roll scene. Everything in his life seems on the cusp of great change: his beloved older sister has just left for college, new girl Caroline becomes his first girlfriend (shortly after becoming the first girl he ever has a real conversation with), and Frank Zappa hires him to transcribe his music. At the same time, larger changes are threatening to rock Quinn's world, as the draft and the Vietnam War edge ever further into his protected world by a way of a draft dodger who asks for his help and the classroom conversations that challenge his priorities. Then, in the midst of all this, Quinn's Ouija board starts giving him messages from Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, all recently deceased. There's a whole lot of plot crammed into this book, and not all of it works; readers may find it easier to suspend disbelief for the Ouija board conceit than for the connections Quinn has to a who's-who of celebrities. In addition, the text is heavy with underexplained references that may alienate more than they educate readers who can't already place them. Tashjian nonetheless captures the anything-can-happen energy of this particular historical moment and the infectious excitement of the explosion of creativity in 1970s musical culture. The dissonances [End Page 48] and convergences between the anxieties of war and protest and the escapism of rock-and-roll party culture are compellingly mapped, providing readers insight into some watershed historical and cultural moments. The narrative is intercut with song and album lists and transcripts of Quinn's school-newspaper music column, "For What It's Worth," which is a fount of fascinating music trivia.

...

pdf

Share