Books like Bad Tickets by Kathleen O'Dell
In the radiant haze of the 1967 Summer of Love, Mary Margaret Hallinan—once a model Catholic student—seeks something beyond the familiar halls of her high school. With her new best friend Jane urging her that boys and psychedelic freedom offer a spectacular future, Mary Margaret questions whether this new life can accommodate her former self.
The novel explores the clash between Mary Margaret’s upbringing and the era’s transformative cultural forces. Themes of friendship, faith, family, and emerging feminism interweave as she wrestles with expectations from her ex‑best friend Elizabeth who fears she will ‘go to hell.’
Through heartfelt observations, the story portrays a coming‑of‑age journey marked by the tension between tradition and the restless spirit of the 1960s counterculture.
First publish date: 2007
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: Kathleen O'Dell
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