-
Summer of '69
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime member exclusive: pick 2 free titles with trial.
Summer of '69
Buy for $21.81
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the 20th century....
Every year the Levin children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic island home, but this year it's not to be. Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby is caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests with her friend Mary Jo Kopechne. And Tiger, the only son, has just been deployed to Vietnam.
Thirteen-year-old Jessie, the youngest of them all, suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother who is hiding secrets of her own....
As the summer heats up, Teddy Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man walks on the moon, and Jessie experiences some sinking and flying herself, as she grows into her own body and mind.
Critic Reviews
"I just LOVE [Elin Hilderbrand's] books, they are such compulsive reads." (Marian Keyes)
"Sink into this book like a hot, scented bath...a delicious, relaxing pleasure." (Kirkus)
"[Elin Hilderbrand] signifies the start of summer to readers." (The Book Reporter)
More from the same
What listeners say about Summer of '69
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lizzie
- 03-24-20
fantastic
i don't get how anyone could not fall in love with this sprawling drama that depicts so beautifully a time, a place and a family! its a wonderful story that i've been escaping into every evening as i wash up and make dinner. great characterisation, sensitive writing - huge kudos to the author, highly recommended.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Susan
- 12-17-19
Could not listen as the Narrator voice was annoyin
Sorry Love Elin Hilderbrand but the narrator voice was very annoying to me so I have not actually completed the book, Bad waste of one of my credits
Susan
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mrs C Payne
- 10-31-19
Terrible narration
The narrator spoilt this for me. Her tone and pitch were off throughout the entire book.
Related to this topic
-
The Travelers
- A Novel
- By: Regina Porter
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
Meet James Samuel Vincent, an affluent Manhattan attorney who shirks his modest Irish-American background but hews to his father’s meandering ways. James muddles through a topsy-turvy relationship with his son, Rufus, which is further complicated when Rufus marries Claudia Christie. Claudia’s mother - Agnes Miller Christie - is a beautiful African-American woman who survives a chance encounter on a Georgia road that propels her into a new life in the Bronx. Soon after, her husband, Eddie Christie, is called to duty on an air craft carrier in Vietnam.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Each character is quite a character.
- By Anonymous User on 01-01-22
By: Regina Porter
-
Family Reunion
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Thayer
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby, Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 330
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 299
A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great story, terrible narrator!
- By Julie H Medici on 07-01-21
By: Nancy Thayer
-
It All Comes Back to You
- By: Beth Duke
- Narrated by: Amy McFadden
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 783
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 680
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 681
It's 1947. War's over, cherry-print dresses, parking above the city lights, swing dancing. Beautiful, 17-year-old Violet lives in a perfect world. Everybody loves her. In 2012, she's still beautiful, charming, and surrounded by admirers. Veronica "Ronni" Johnson, licensed practical nurse and aspiring writer, meets the captivating Violet in the assisted living facility where Violet requires no assistance, just lots of male attention. When she dies, she leaves Ronni a very generous bequest - only if Ronni completes a book about her life within one year.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Don't waste your time
- By carolynn on 02-10-20
By: Beth Duke
-
Summer on the Bluffs
- A Novel (Oak Bluffs, Book 1)
- By: Sunny Hostin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,936
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,740
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,731
Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters”: Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Sorry not for me
- By Kim P on 05-06-21
By: Sunny Hostin
-
Five Tuesdays in Winter
- Stories
- By: Lily King
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Mark Bramhall, Stacey Glemboski, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,002
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,007
Lily King’s literary mastery, her spare and stunning prose, and her gift for creating lasting and treasured characters is on full display in this curated selection of short fiction. Five Tuesdays in Winter showcases an exhilarating new form for this extraordinarily gifted author writing at the height of her career.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Depressing and Unfulfilling
- By Anonymous User on 11-16-21
By: Lily King
-
Two Truths and a Lie
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 194
Truth: Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie, recently moved to the idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. They’ve been welcomed by Rebecca Coleman, unofficial former leader of the Newburyport Mom Squad, and her teenage daughter Alexa, Katie’s new babysitter. Truth: Alexa has time on her hands after a falling-out with her friends involving her popular YouTube channel.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Really more of a YA novel...
- By F. Terwilliger on 09-04-20
-
The Travelers
- A Novel
- By: Regina Porter
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
Meet James Samuel Vincent, an affluent Manhattan attorney who shirks his modest Irish-American background but hews to his father’s meandering ways. James muddles through a topsy-turvy relationship with his son, Rufus, which is further complicated when Rufus marries Claudia Christie. Claudia’s mother - Agnes Miller Christie - is a beautiful African-American woman who survives a chance encounter on a Georgia road that propels her into a new life in the Bronx. Soon after, her husband, Eddie Christie, is called to duty on an air craft carrier in Vietnam.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Each character is quite a character.
- By Anonymous User on 01-01-22
By: Regina Porter
-
Family Reunion
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Thayer
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby, Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 330
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 299
A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great story, terrible narrator!
- By Julie H Medici on 07-01-21
By: Nancy Thayer
-
It All Comes Back to You
- By: Beth Duke
- Narrated by: Amy McFadden
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 783
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 680
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 681
It's 1947. War's over, cherry-print dresses, parking above the city lights, swing dancing. Beautiful, 17-year-old Violet lives in a perfect world. Everybody loves her. In 2012, she's still beautiful, charming, and surrounded by admirers. Veronica "Ronni" Johnson, licensed practical nurse and aspiring writer, meets the captivating Violet in the assisted living facility where Violet requires no assistance, just lots of male attention. When she dies, she leaves Ronni a very generous bequest - only if Ronni completes a book about her life within one year.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Don't waste your time
- By carolynn on 02-10-20
By: Beth Duke
-
Summer on the Bluffs
- A Novel (Oak Bluffs, Book 1)
- By: Sunny Hostin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,936
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,740
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,731
Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters”: Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Sorry not for me
- By Kim P on 05-06-21
By: Sunny Hostin
-
Five Tuesdays in Winter
- Stories
- By: Lily King
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Mark Bramhall, Stacey Glemboski, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,002
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,007
Lily King’s literary mastery, her spare and stunning prose, and her gift for creating lasting and treasured characters is on full display in this curated selection of short fiction. Five Tuesdays in Winter showcases an exhilarating new form for this extraordinarily gifted author writing at the height of her career.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Depressing and Unfulfilling
- By Anonymous User on 11-16-21
By: Lily King
-
Two Truths and a Lie
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 194
Truth: Sherri Griffin and her daughter, Katie, recently moved to the idyllic beach town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. They’ve been welcomed by Rebecca Coleman, unofficial former leader of the Newburyport Mom Squad, and her teenage daughter Alexa, Katie’s new babysitter. Truth: Alexa has time on her hands after a falling-out with her friends involving her popular YouTube channel.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Really more of a YA novel...
- By F. Terwilliger on 09-04-20
-
Surfside Sisters
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Thayer
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 712
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 651
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 651
A Nantucket woman returns home to find that reunions aren’t always simple, in this heartwarming novel from the New York Times bestselling author. Keely Green always dreamed of leaving the beautiful shores of Nantucket to become a writer. Now she’s a bestselling novelist living in New York City, attending glamorous cocktail parties, mingling with the literary elite, and dating a charming pediatric surgeon. But a moment of clarity strikes when Keely’s boyfriend suddenly wants to settle down and her editor rejects her latest novel.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Too fluffy!
- By LoRe Bolling on 07-10-19
By: Nancy Thayer
-
An Invincible Summer
- Wyndham Beach, Book 1
- By: Mariah Stewart
- Narrated by: Kate Marcin
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 277
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 243
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 241
It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. He shared Maggie’s dreams - and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart. Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings....
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Anti-feminist drivel
- By Rachel R on 05-05-21
By: Mariah Stewart
-
Reunion Beach
- Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank
- By: Elin Hilderbrand, Adriana Trigiani, Patti Callahan Henry, and others
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 190
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
In this warm and moving anthology, a group of best-selling authors and writers pay tribute to legendary, larger-than-life New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank and her literary legacy, capturing her unforgettable spirit, joy, and humor in stories of reunions and love. Infused with Dorothea Benton Frank’s remarkable spirit, Reunion Beach is a literary homage and beautiful keepsake that keeps this dearly missed writer’s flame burning bright.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
All over the place, no plot
- By Victoria Barden on 05-18-21
By: Elin Hilderbrand, and others
-
Finding Mrs. Ford
- A Novel
- By: Deborah Goodrich Royce
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,122
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,792
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,785
Mrs. Ford leads a privileged life. From her Blenheim spaniels to her cottage on the coast of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, she carefully curates her world. Hair in place, house in place, life in place, Susan Ford keeps it under control. Early one morning in the summer of 2014, the past pays a call to collect. The FBI arrives to question her about a man from Iraq - a Chaldean Christian from Mosul - where ISIS has just seized control. Sammy Fakhouri, they say, is his name, and they have taken him into custody, picked him up on his way to her house.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
5
- By Donna on 07-23-19
-
Early Morning Riser
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Heiny
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 502
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 442
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 443
Jane falls in love with Duncan easily. He is charming, good-natured, and handsome, but unfortunately, he has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan. Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere - at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away. While Jane may be able to come to terms with dating the world's most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she did not have to share him quite so widely.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not my usual
- By JoAnn on 04-23-21
By: Katherine Heiny
-
Ladder of Years
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 104
"Baltimore Woman Disappears During Family Vacation." The headlines are all the same: Beloved mother and wife Delia Grinstead was last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing only a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with $500 tucked inside. To the best of her family's knowledge, she has disappeared without a trace. But Delia didn't disappear. She ran.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Terrific book, outstanding narration.
- By windymoon on 08-28-21
By: Anne Tyler
-
Friends and Strangers
- A Novel
- By: J. Courtney Sullivan
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 729
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 617
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 618
Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly 20 years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore. Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
thought provoking story
- By Barbara S on 07-26-20
-
Malibu Rising
- A Novel
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,512
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,970
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,902
Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva. The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Malibu Sinking
- By SB on 06-01-21
-
Summer People
- A Novel
- By: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrated by: Beth MacDonald
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 772
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 679
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 681
Every summer the Newton family retreats to their beloved home on Nantucket for three months of sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires on the beach. But this summer will not be like any other. When Arch Newton, a prominent New York attorney, dies in a plane crash on his way home from a business trip, his beautiful widow, Beth, can barely keep things together. Above all, though, she decides that she must continue the family tradition of going to Nantucket, and at the same time fulfill a promise that Arch made before he died.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I'm returning it
- By Sunworshipper3 on 07-09-18
By: Elin Hilderbrand
-
A Little Hope
- A Novel
- By: Ethan Joella
- Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 98
Freddie and Greg Tyler seem to have it all: a comfortable home, a beautiful young daughter, a bond that feels unbreakable. But when Greg is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, the sense of certainty they once knew evaporates. Throughout their town, friends and neighbors face the most difficult of life’s challenges and are figuring out how to survive thanks to love, grace, and hope.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
a bit too depressing
- By Barbara S on 12-27-22
By: Ethan Joella
-
The Third Wish
- By: Carolyn Brown
- Narrated by: Andrea Emmes
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
When she was eight years old, Jessica Graham made three wishes: that she wouldn't always be the tallest kid in the class, that she would find a big conch shell on the beach, and that she would finally meet her father someday. Jessica's wishes never came true, but twenty years later, when she finds her mother's old love letters, she has a chance to make the third wish a reality. Jessica travels to Florida to find her father, but their reunion is interrupted by his arrogant junior business partner, Rocky Rycroft.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not My Favorite
- By RosieDisla on 02-14-23
By: Carolyn Brown
-
The Guncle
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Steven Rowley
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,834
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,430
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,418
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
In two words . . . Loved it!!
- By Donna Rauch Lanford on 06-05-21
By: Steven Rowley